Bladder cancer is a fairly common form of cancer that is more common among men than women. It is often diagnosed in people over 70 but can happen to anyone regardless of age or gender. Most forms of bladder cancer never spread beyond the lining of the bladder, but it has the potential to spread to the bladder wall or to other parts of the body.
When it is contained within the bladder lining or wall, bladder cancer is very treatable and is rarely fatal. However, if it spreads to other parts of the body or gets into your lymph nodes, bladder cancer is much more difficult to cure and has a higher mortality rate. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are essential for people with bladder cancer.
In most cases, some form of surgery is the most popular treatment for people with bladder cancer. There are several different types of surgery, but the aim is always to surgically remove cancerous cells and tumours in and around the bladder. Here are some of the most common procedures.
A cystectomy is a surgical procedure where all or part of the bladder is removed. Your doctor will remove as much of the bladder as necessary to remove the cancer from your body. If they remove too much of the bladder, you will need to undergo a neobladder reconstruction surgery.
A transurethral resection of a bladder tumour, also known as TURBT, is done to both diagnose and treat bladder cancer. Using this method, your doctor inserts a wire loop and cystoscopy into the bladder. Using these tools, they can identify cancer cells within the bladder and either cut them out or burn them away.
A neobladder reconstruction is where your doctor creates a new way for your body to get rid of urine. This is necessary if you have your entire bladder removed during cancer surgery. A neobladder reconstruction involves taking part of your intestine to create a reservoir that serves as your bladder. Using this method, most people can urinate as they did before surgery.
Whether you undergo surgery or not, chemotherapy is almost always administered if you have bladder cancer. Chemotherapy consists of drugs and medications that destroy cancer cells in the bladder and throughout the body. Chemotherapy can be administered either intravenously or sent directly into the bladder.
Radiation therapy is often administered in combination with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and other treatments. However, it can also be a standalone treatment, as it helps both to destroy cancer cells and prevent cancer from returning. Where chemotherapy uses drugs and medications to kill cancer cells, radiation uses target radiation beams.
Part of the reason that bladder cancer can grow and spread is because it compromises your immune system and it’s unable to fight the cancer. Therefore, your doctor might recommend immunotherapy, where you are given medications to boost your immune system. With the extra boost, your system can help fight cancer and keep it from spreading. However, immunotherapy is rarely effective on its own and is best utilized in combination with other treatments.
In order for cancer to grow and spread in the body, it needs certain proteins and chemicals. The goal of targeted therapy is to target and block the specific building blocks of cancer to keep it from growing and spreading. There are several different medications used in targeted therapy, including erdafitinib and ramucirumab, depending on how advanced your cancer is.
The good news about bladder cancer is that it is very treatable if you catch it early enough. Therefore, it is important to watch out for symptoms of bladder cancer, such as pain or blood during urination, inability to urinate, frequent urination, and other urinary problems.