Today, we’re going to talk about cancer of the ureter. Generally speaking, cancer is when cells grow out of control. So if a cell in the lining of the urinary tract between the kidney and the bladder starts to grow out of control, that forms a lesion, a polyp or a growth. Those are all terms that are used interchangeably. And that’s ureteral cancer.

We need to talk a little bit about the anatomy of the urinary tract. The kidneys’ job is to filter the blood from waste products, which get expelled in the urine. The kidney is a urine manufacturing plant and a filter for the blood. The outer portion of the kidney does the filtering and the urine drips into an inside hollow urine chamber at the level of the kidney that connects to a hollow thin muscular tube called the ureter, which propels the urine, almost like a snake squeezing, propels the urine down to the bladder.

If you could look inside this urine chamber and the ureter, the lining of it is a smooth, shiny slippery lining. Almost like the inside of your cheek. This slippery lining is called mucosa. And if the cells of the mucosa of the upper urine chamber become cancerous, that’s ureteral cancer.

Key Takeaways

1. Cancer is when cells grow out of control.

2. If a cell in the lining of the urinary tract grows out of control, that forms a growth and that’s ureteral cancer.

3. The kidneys filter the blood from waste products, which get expelled in the urine.

4. The kidney does the filtering and the urine drips into an inside hollow urine chamber that connects to a hollow thin muscular tube called the ureter, which propels the urine down to the bladder.

5. The slippery lining of the urine chamber is called mucosa and if cells there become cancerous, that’s ureteral cancer.