People are being urged to look out for possible signs of bladder and kidney cancer after it was revealed that Medway has the highest number of deaths in the South East.

According to the data from NHS England, there were 41 deaths related to these types of the disease in the Towns in 2013, with 89 people having the disease diagnosed.

Across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, the second highest number of deaths was in Brighton and Hove where, despite a population size similar to Medway’s – around 274,000 – just 35 people died. In Kent, the next highest was Thanet, with 32 deaths.

Bladder and kidney cancers are the seventh and eighth most common cancers in England, with around 17,450 people having the disease diagnosed each year.

These cancers can affect people of all ages but are most common in those over 50. The figures were released by NHS England as part of its Be Clear on Cancer campaign to encourage people to go to their doctor if they notice blood in their urine.

Dr Alison Taylor, deputy medical director for NHS England South East, said: “Although blood in your pee is an important symptom and may be a sign of cancer, there are many other more common, curable and less serious causes.

“So it’s important not to let fear prevent you from seeking advice as soon as possible. Many cases of bladder cancer, in particular, can be completely cured by relatively non-invasive treatment, but only if they are picked up early.”

Other symptoms of bladder cancer include cystitis (a urinary tract infection) that is difficult to treat or comes back quickly after treatment, and pain when urinating. Other kidney cancer symptoms include a pain in the side, below the ribs, that doesn’t go away, and weight loss.

Trisha Bain, chief quality officer at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We really commend this latest campaign to alert people to early possible signs of cancer. We have already introduced a number of work programmes across the trust to help improve our waiting times. As a result, we are now seeing improvements in our two-week cancer waiting times.”

Last year, Medway NHS Foundation Trust was the worst performing trust in the country for cancer referral times, with just 72.14% of patients seen within the target time frame.

Health regulator Monitor has also ordered Medway Maritime Hospital to do more to combat rising waiting times in cancer care and routine operations.

For more information visit www.nhs.uk/bloodinpee