Symptoms of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms in its early stages. Signs and symptoms often appear as the tumour gets bigger or grows deeper into the wall of the bladder. Other health conditions can cause the same symptoms as bladder cancer.

The most common sign of bladder cancer is blood in the urine (pee) (hematuria). This may cause changes to the colour of the urine, such as turning it orange, pink or red. Sometimes the amount of blood in the urine is so small that you can’t see it and it is only found during a urinalysis.

Other signs and symptoms of bladder cancer may include:

• a need to urinate more often than usual (frequent urination)
• an intense need to urinate (urgent urination)
• burning or pain during urination
• difficulty urinating or having a weak stream of urine
• low back pain or pain in the pelvis