If you’ve ever watched a crime-scene drama on TV, you may have seen the forensics team check for blood. They use a very simple test that’s extremely accurate. In fact, it’s admissible in court.
What most people don’t know is that you can buy this test at your local drugstore. But why would you want to? You’re not a crime-scene investigator.
Well, there’s one very good reason to buy that test: It might save your life – from bladder cancer.
That’s right! This inexpensive test can help you discover bladder cancer long before it actually develops.
Here’s how:
Bladder cancer is similar to colon cancer in that if you spot it early, it’s easier to treat.
And, like colon cancer, there are polyps that develop in the bladder that are precancerous. Find those polyps early and you don’t have much to worry about.
Fortunately, it’s simple to detect bladder polyps. All you have to do is use that simple crime-scene test.
You see, bladder polyps have a nasty habit of bleeding. It’s just a little bit of blood. So little, in fact, you’d never notice it in your urine.
But it’s enough blood for the test to pick up on it.
The test is a simple paper strip with a special blood reagent material on the tip. When that reagent material comes into contact with blood, it changes color.
So if the paper strip turns green, you know there’s blood. It’s 100% accurate!
Here’s the Proof
One study found that these little paper strips can significantly reduce your risk of invasive bladder cancer.
In the study, the researchers followed 1,575 patients for 14 years. Some of them used the test strips. Some of them didn’t.
In the group that used the strips, 16% had blood in their urine. But none of them died from bladder cancer.
In the group that didn’t use the strips, 104 of them died from bladder cancer. That’s a massive difference!
Those little paper strips allowed the doctors to find the cancer before it invaded and remove the polyps. They clearly saved lives!
How to Prevent Bladder Cancer
The good news is you can do this test at home. All you have to do is buy a bottle of Hemastix® test strips. You can find these at most drugstores and online for about $40.
There are 50 strips in a bottle, and they have a shelf life of only a year. So get your whole family to do the test 2-4 times a year, depending on your risk level. If you’ve had bladder cancer in the past, do the test more often.
It’s easy to do. You can either pee on the stick or pee in a cup and dip the strip in the urine. If it turns green, that means there’s blood in your urine and you need to see a urologist. Put the strip in a Ziplock bag and take it with you to the appointment.
Women should avoid testing around their periods, as it could lead to a false positive.
With this simple test, your ability to avoid bladder cancer has never been easier!
Sources:
Family Practice News, July 15, 2006.