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Researchers are always finding new treatments for bladder cancer. People with cancer now have more hope for survival than ever before. In this section we will cover the details of different treatments. Type, size, and location of the tumor in your...
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You may feel overwhelmed at first with all the information about treatment options. Give yourself time to gather as much information as you can. Learn about your disease and the treatments. Discuss the issues with your doctors, nurses, and loved o...
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The type of treatment your doctor recommends for you depends on the type of cancer you have and its stage--that is, how invasive it is. Transurethral resection surgery only;Transurethral resection surgery followed by intravesical immunotherapy;Par...
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Surgery is the most common treatment for bladder cancer. Its goal is to remove the tumor, while preserving as much of the bladder as possible. Several types of surgery can be used. Your doctor will help you understand the risks and benefits of eac...
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You have to be healthy for surgery to be a good choice. Before surgery, you'll meet with your surgeon, who is a urologist, which is a doctor who specializes in problems with the urinary tract, including the bladder. In this meeting, you will talk ...
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This type of surgery is usually done for early-stage, superficial bladder cancers. So you may have this surgery if you have stage 0 or stage I bladder cancer. This means that the cancer hasn't spread beyond the bladder's lining.
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During your evaluation, your doctor uses cystoscopy to look inside your bladder. If the cancer is in an early stage (superficial) and growing slowly (low grade), it may be removed using cystoscopy. Removal of a tumor during cystoscopy is known as ...
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You'll probably stay in the hospital 1 to 2 days after transurethral resection. A tube called a catheter is usually left in the urethra after the procedure. The tube prevents blockage of the urethra. It also helps stop the bleeding. Your doctor wi...
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This type of surgery may be necessary if you have invasive bladder cancer. That means you may have this type of surgery if you have stage II or stage III bladder cancer. This means the cancer has spread to at least the muscular wall of the bladder...
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The night before the surgery, you will need to drink liquid medicine that empties your bowels. You will also need to have a liquid-only dinner. And you may take an antibiotic to reduce the chance of infection. If you are healthy, you can check int...
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Cystectomy is the surgical removal of the entire bladder. This surgery may be suggested in certain cases of bladder cancer, especially high-grade, high-stage cancer. Your doctor can discuss the risks and benefits of cystectomy with you. If you dec...
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You'll stay in the hospital 5 to 7 days after having cystectomy. You may have pain where the surgeon cut into your abdomen. You may be nauseated from the anesthesia. You'll be given medications to ease pain. You may be given medications to ease na...
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If your whole bladder is removed, you will need another way to store and eliminate urine. The creation of a new place for urine to be stored and a way for it to leave your body is called reconstructive surgery. Your surgeon performs reconstructive...
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It takes time to get used to the changes in your body when you've had reconstructive surgery. Depending on the type of surgery you had, you may not urinate the way you used to. You may have an abdominal opening and an external urine bag to cope wi...
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This treatment issometimes called biological therapy. Immunotherapy is when drugs are used to make the body's own immune system fight cancer. Its goal is to kill cancer cells without having to remove the bladder. It can also help keep the bladder ...
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Your doctor may recommend immunotherapy if you have early-stage, superficial bladder cancer. This means the cancer has not spread beyond the lining of your bladder. Immunotherapy may be used alone to treat bladder cancer.
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The most common way to give immunotherapy for bladder cancer is intravesically. That means the drugs are placed directly into your bladder instead of injected into your blood or taken as pills. Early-stage bladder cancer can often be successfully ...
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Here are some of the side effects that are common with immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Discomfort or burning in the bladder;Flulike symptoms, such as chills, fatigue, or fever
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Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs used in chemotherapy are designed to attack and kill cells that divide quickly. Cancer cells divide more quickly than most cells in the body. This means that the drugs used in chemotherapy ma...
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Your doctor may recommend chemotherapy to treat bladder cancer if any of these cases apply to you. You have a large tumor.Your doctor may use chemotherapy to shrink a large tumor before surgery. Making the tumor smaller makes it easier to take out...
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Chemotherapy is given in cycles. A person with bladder cancer will get chemotherapy treatment for a certain length of time and then get a rest period. Then treatment will begin again. Each treatment and rest period makes up one cycle. Most people ...
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For this treatment, chemotherapy drugs are placed directly into your bladder. The doctor does this with a catheter inserted through your urethra. When you get chemotherapy in this manner, the drugs affect only the cancer cells in your bladder. The...
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Bladder infection;Bladder irritation (burning, need to urinate frequently, pain on urination);Changes in your blood cell counts (with certain chemotherapy drugs);Scarring of the bladder (rare);General infection (with BCG) (very rare)
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For systemic chemotherapy, your doctor or nurse injects anticancer drugs into your vein. The benefit of systemic treatment is that the drugs can attack cancer cells throughout your body, not just in your bladder. It's used to treat cancers that ma...
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Ask your oncologist and chemotherapy nurse for the details on each drug's side effects.Side effects of chemotherapy are different for everyone and vary based on the types of drugs you receive. Urinary frequency;Urinary urgency;Pain or burning with...
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Radiation therapy is also called radiotherapy. It is one way to treat bladder cancer. Radiation uses high-energy X-ray beams to kill cancer cells. Radiation that comes from a machine outside the body is called external beam radiation therapy (EBRT...
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Your doctor may recommend radiation for you in any of the following situations. You have stage II or stage III bladder cancer and are also getting chemotherapy. The goal of this kind of treatment is to cure the cancer and leave you with a function...
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External radiation therapy is usually given on an outpatient basis in a hospital or a clinic. This type of radiation usually comes from a machine called a linear accelerator. You'll lie still on a table while a radiation oncologist uses a machine,...
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Radiation is a way of treating cancer. Radiation uses beams of energy to destroy cancer cells. With each dose, the tumor gets smaller. The cancer cells die and healthy cells take their place. Radiation may be used alone or with chemotherapy, and m...
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Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. The radiation oncologist is a doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer. He or she develops and leads your treatment and follow-up.; The radiation therapist works c...
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Radiation therapy can help you in your fight against cancer. To feel better,get plenty of rest,exercise,and eat well. This will give your body the extra strength it needs right now. Also,look to family and friends for support and comfort. If you d...
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Because radiation affects normal cells as well as cancer cells, you may have some side effects from this treatment. Usually, the risk of side effects is far less than the benefit of killing cancer cells. Many people have no side effects at all. If...
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According to the American Cancer Society, these arefacts about bladder cancer. About 74% of bladder cancers are found in an early, localized stage. This is the stage when treatment is most successful.;When bladder cancer is diagnosed at an early s...
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