Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – As part of Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Christine Ibilibor, a urologic oncologist at UVA Health, joined Morning News  to discuss the importance of recognizing early signs and recent advances in treatment. “Blood in the urine, having red urine, is the number one common symptom,” Dr. Ibilibor explained, stressing the urgency of seeking a urologist’s evaluation immediately. She also pointed out a gender gap in diagnosis, noting, “Men are more likely to get bladder cancer than women, but women are more likely to have it found much later.”

At UVA Health, researchers are actively pursuing bladder-sparing treatments. “Bladder preservation is a large growing priority,” Dr. Ibilibor said, citing a rise in the use of intravesical therapies and immunotherapies as alternatives to surgery. She noted promising developments such as the drug nadofaragene and emphasized that most stage 1 cases now have multiple treatment options available, often avoiding the need for bladder removal.

Lifestyle choices also play a role in prevention. “There’s also some very interesting research about how vegetables can help prevent people from developing bladder cancer, what we call cruciferous vegetables, like brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, things like that.” Dr. Ibilibor also issued a clear warning about smoking, calling it a major risk factor: “There are really no benefits… cigarettes offer and there’s just so much more harm.”

Listen to the full conversation here: