Women are less likely to be refered immediately for bladder and kidney cancer investigations

Gender inequalities in the promptness of bladder and renal cancer after symptomatic presentation: evidence from secondary analysis of an English primary care audit survey. BMJ Open June 2013

Women with bladder and renal cancer are more likely than men to require three or more consultations with their general practitioner before they are referred to a hospital specialist. They also experience longer time intervals between presentation and hospital referral. These include gender differences for patients both with and without blood in the urine (haematuria), suggesting that doctors often interpret the clinical importance of haematuria differently in men and women. This is thought to be due to the higher risk of urinary infections in women than men. Blood in the urine is a key symptom in the diagnosis of these serious but treatable diseases. If you experience blood in the urine you should see your doctor immediately and they will decide if you need referring on to a specialist. At the Staffordshire Urology Clinic we offer state of the art investigation of blood in the urine and highly specialist management of both kidney and bladder cancer including key hole (laparoscopic surgery).