If you develop bladder cancer, there is a chance that it comes from contaminated water or another environmental factor. There are links between contaminated water and developing cancers, so there could be a link in your case. This article explains the link between bladder cancer and water contamination.
Water can become contaminated with any number of solutions. Cleaning chemicals can leak into the water table. In some cases, the water treatment plant may not be cleaning the water thoroughly enough. In other cases, local sewerage systems may be seeping or releasing harmful chemicals.
For whatever reason, a contaminated water supply is a real possibility in modern-day America. Worse than the contamination is the diseases that it can cause. Scientific studies link these diseases to water contamination. Bladder cancer and bladder conditions, which are cancerous, are both parts of that.
What is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer is as deadly and as horrific as it sounds. The bladder is the part of the body where we store our urine until we expel it. When you develop cancer in this part of your body, you have to urinate more often, might see blood in your urine, or could suffer from lower back and pelvic pains.
The CDC estimates that every year in the US, about 57,000 men and 18,000 women develop bladder cancer. The disease can be terminal, with about 12,000 men and 4,700 women dying from it each year. A sizable portion of those statistics could be lower if it wasn’t for a contaminated water supply. You might have heard about Camp LeJeune Bladder Cancer Lawsuit. The reason for the lawsuit is the contaminated water in the area caused many diseases to people, including bladder cancer.
What’s the Camp LeJeune Lawsuit?
Camp LeJeune is a Marine Corps Base Camp that saw operational use from the 1940s onwards. During the 80s, the CDC became aware of contamination in the water supply. Cleaning chemicals of industrial strength had seeped into it, as well as the local water plant failed to tackle contaminations. The volatile organic compounds within the contaminated groundwater meant that everyone living in the base was drinking harmful chemicals every time they poured a glass of water.
The Camp LeJeune lawsuit is a class action case that has its own Act in congress. The Act allows those affected by the contaminated water to claim compensation for the harm done to them. What is one of the conditions listed as linked to the contamination? Bladder cancer.
Bladder Cancer linked to Contaminated Water, by Order of the CDC
There are many studies that link bladder cancer to contaminants in our drinking water. This 1995 study in Environmental Health Perspectives establishes that drinking water contains all human chemicals. The by-products of chlorination to make our drinking water safe are themselves cancerous and can affect the bladder.
A second study by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network revealed that arsenic present in water contamination zones was responsible for a high number of New England bladder cancer cases. In New England, bladder cancer rates are 20% higher than in the rest of the US. Arsenic in privately owned wells is the theoretical cause.
Can drinking water contamination cause bladder cancer? Absolutely. There should be no doubt.
