At Home with Dr Christian Jessen 2016 - (Page 228)

The 'pee' word Bladder and kidney cancers affect around 20,000 people a year and nearly half die as a result. If you think something's awry with your urine, see your doctor immediately B ack in 2014, Public Health England ran a campaign, to be rerun in March this year, entitled 'Blood in the Pee'. It had the tag line 'Be Clear on Cancer'. 'It was a refreshingly straight talking call to action for both potential sufferers and practitioners in highlighting one of the key symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer,' says Mr Sadmeet Singh (pictured above), one of the foremost experts in the field of urology. Mr Singh qualified from Nottingham University Medical School in 1993. Just five years later, he gained the FRCS (Eng) qualification in 1998 and was awarded a doctorate for research into prostate cancer at the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Ontario, Canada. Appointed as a consultant urological surgeon at the Nuffield Health Derby Hospital, Derby Private Health (within the Royal Derby Hospital) and the Park Hospital in Nottingham. Mr Singh undertakes radical surgery for bladder and kidney cancers along with robotically assisted surgery for prostate cancer. Let's talk about it Mr Singh's practice in urology is centred around patients with prostate, bladder and kidney cancers. And while cancer and cancer breakthroughs are often in the news, he believes there is still much work to be done in educating people. The good news is that advances in diagnostics, therapeutics and medical technology are having a positive impact on the threat that cancers pose to everyone. However, some media coverage of what are often referred to as 'breakthroughs' may not be all that they seem, says Mr Singh. 'Behind the dramatic headlines, the reality is often quite different and many of these potential treatments are still a long way from practical application,' he says. What cancer means Cancer is a prevalent killer in the developed world and causes 42% of the UK's premature deaths. But what does it really mean? 'The word cancer describes the abnormal growth of cells progressing uncontrollably,' explains Mr Singh. 'Cancers behave differently depending on the organ. Equally, the same cancer in one individual may affect another quite differently. Plus certain killers (because that's what cancers are) have become curable, while others are at least controllable.' Bladder and kidney cancer are the seventh and eighth most commonly diagnosed cancers in the UK. Over 20,000 people are diagnosed with these cancers every year and nearly 10,000 die as a result. Unfortunately, survival rates for patients with bladder cancer have not improved significantly over the last 10 years. Both are more common in men than women. Interestingly, while men and women have the same chances of surviving kidney cancer, women suffer a 10% survival deficit against men with bladder cancer. This may be due to differences in diagnosis. Both types of cancers most often occur spontaneously rather than with a clearly demonstrable genetic basis. That said, lifestyle CHECK IT OUT Everyone should keep an eye on their urine and see their doctor if anything unusual comes out, such as blood is a critical factor. In particular smoking can predispose a person to bladder cancer, and to a lesser extent kidney cancer. Spot the signs Both cancers are more curable if found early, and blood in the pee is a key early indicator. 'Once blood is observed you should see your GP without delay,' says Mr Singh. Other symptoms include needing to pee very often or suddenly; pain while peeing. It can be tempting to put a new symptom down to an innocent cause, or wait for it to 'go away'. But some signs, such as blood in your pee, need to be acted on promptly, by both patients and doctors, even if it just happens the once. 'Seeing blood in urine is an alarming symptom and patients seeing a urologist with this problem may well have an inkling that a

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of At Home with Dr Christian Jessen 2016

At Home with Dr Christian Jessen 2016