Unfortunately, there are many risk factors for bladder cancer that cannot be prevented or controlled – age, race, sex, and family history, for example. However, there are certain precautions you can take to reduce your risk of developing bladder cancer.
- Don’t smoke
- As smoking is the number one risk factor for bladder cancer, linked to over half of cases, you can dramatically reduce your risk by not smoking.
- Limit exposure to workplace chemicals
- Workers in rubber, leather, textile, and painting industries are often exposed to certain organic chemicals which have been linked to bladder cancer. If you work in any of these industries, it is important to take the appropriate precautions to reduce your exposure to these chemicals.
- Drink lots of liquids
- There is some evidence that drinking lots of fluids, mainly water, can reduce a person’s risk of bladder cancer.
Information taken from American Cancer Society.