Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System have published a research review in the Journal of Urology which provides strong evidence that not only do most people fail to realize that smoking is a major risk factor for bladder cancer, but that a disturbingly small percentage of doctors, including urologists, fail to warm their patients of this fact.
According to Drs. Seth A. Strope and James E. Montie, while 98% of adults know the connection between smoking and lung cancer, only one-third of adults knew that smoking raises the risk of bladder cancer.
They further noted that smoking is believed to be responsible for half of bladder cancer cases, and that quitting could substantially reduce a smoker's risk of the disease. Additionally, quitting can reduce the chances of a recurrence in people who have been successfully treated for early bladder cancer. One study reviewed found that when smokers with bladder cancer quit after their diagnosis, their risk of recurrence was 30% less than with patients who continued to smoke.
The most astounding findings in their review, however, were the following: The large number of smokers, including those with bladder cancer, who stated that their doctors never advised them to quit smoking!. In a government study of U.S. adults, only 1/2 of smokers with a physician said that their doctor advised them to quit smoking, and in an even more unbelievable finding, they described a United Kingdom study of bladder cancer patients where the findings were that only 7% were told by their urologist that they should quit smoking!
"Our study suggests that physicians must do a much better job of communicating the risk to our patients, and directing them toward smoking cessation programs," Strope said.
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