My Bladder Cancer Fight

Treatment of cancer of the bladder depends on the stage of your disease, the type of your disease, your age, and your overall condition.

You may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or you may choose to go into a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy, and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. Clinical trials are going on in most parts of the country for most stages of cancer of the bladder. If you want more information, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237); TTY at 1-800-332-8615.

Stages Of The Bladder Cancer

Once cancer of the bladder has been diagnosed, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body (staging). To plan treatment, your doctor needs to know the stage of your disease. The following stages are used for cancer of the bladder:

Stage 0
Or Carcinoma In Situ Stage 0 is very early cancer. The cancer is found only on the inner lining of the bladder. After the cancer is taken out, no swelling or lumps are felt during an internal examination.

Stage I
Cancer cells have spread a little deeper into the inner lining of the bladder but have not spread to the muscular wall of the bladder.

Stage II
Cancer cells have spread to the inside lining of the muscles lining the bladder.

Stage III
Cancer cells have spread throughout the muscular wall of the bladder, to the layer of tissue surrounding the bladder and/or to the nearby reproductive organs. Your doctor may feel swelling or lumps after you have had an operation to take out the cancer.

Stage IV
Cancer cells have spread to the wall of the abdomen or pelvis or to the lymph nodes in the area. (Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body; they produce and store infection-fighting cells.) The cancer may have also spread to lymph nodes and other parts of the body far away from the bladder.

Recurrent
Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the original place or in another part of the body.

Bladder Cancer Treatment By Stage.

STAGE 0 BLADDER CANCER

1. Removal of the cancer using a cystoscope inserted through the urethra to cut out the tumor and burn away any remaining cancer cells (transurethral Your treatment may be one of the following: resection with fulguration).

2. Transurethral resection with fulguration followed by intravesical chemotherapy or biological therapy.

3. Surgery to remove part of the bladder (segmental cystectomy).

4. Intravesical chemotherapy or intravesical biological therapy alone. Clinical trials are evaluating new agents to be given this way.

5. Surgery to remove the whole bladder and organs around it (radical cystectomy).

6. A clinical trial of photodynamic therapy.

7. A clinical trial of intravesical biological therapy.

8. After you have been treated for the cancer, you may be given agents to prevent the cancer from coming back.

STAGE I BLADDER CANCER

Your treatment may be one of the following:

1. Removal of the cancer using a cystoscope inserted through the urethra to cut out the tumor and burn away any remaining cancer cells (transurethral resection with fulguration).

2. Transurethral resection and fulguration followed by intravesical chemotherapy or biological therapy.

3. Intravesical chemotherapy or biological therapy alone.

4. Surgery to remove part of the bladder (segmental cystectomy).

5. Surgery to remove the whole bladder and organs around it (radical cystectomy).

6. Internal radiation therapy with or without external-beam radiation therapy.

7. A clinical trial of agents to prevent the cancer from coming back after you have been treated for cancer.

8. A clinical trial of intravesical therapy.

STAGE II BLADDER CANCER

Your treatment may be one of the following:

1. Surgery to remove the whole bladder and the organs around it (radical cystectomy). The lymph nodes in the pelvis may also be removed (lymph node dissection).

2. External-beam radiation therapy alone.

3. Internal radiation therapy before or after external-beam radiation therapy.

4. Internal radiation therapy alone.

5. Removal of the cancer using a cystoscope inserted through the urethra to cut out the tumor and burn away any remaining cancer cells (transurethral resection with fulguration).

6. Surgery to remove part of the bladder (segmental cystectomy).

7. Clinical trials of systemic chemotherapy before cystectomy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) or after cystectomy (adjuvant chemotherapy).

8. A clinical trial of systemic chemotherapy plus radiation therapy.

STAGE III BLADDER CANCER

Your treatment may be one of the following:

1. Radical cystectomy. The lymph nodes in the pelvis may also be removed (pelvic lymph node dissection).

2. External radiation therapy.

3. External-beam and internal radiation therapy.

4. Surgery to remove part of the bladder (segmental cystectomy).

5. Internal radiation therapy.

6. External-beam radiation and chemotherapy.

7. A clinical trial of systemic chemotherapy before cystectomy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) or after cystectomy (adjuvant chemotherapy).

8. A clinical trial of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to allow you to keep your bladder.

STAGE IV BLADDER CANCER

If you have stage IV bladder cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes, but not to other parts of the body, your treatment may be one of the following:

1. Radical cystectomy.

2. External-beam radiation therapy.

3. Surgery to make a way for urine to flow out of the body so that it does not go into the bladder (urinary diversion), to reduce symptoms.

4. Surgery to remove the bladder (cystectomy) to relieve symptoms.

5. Systemic chemotherapy by itself or in addition to surgery.

6. A clinical trial of systemic chemotherapy before cystectomy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) or after cystectomy (adjuvant chemotherapy).

7. A clinical trial of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to allow you to keep your bladder.

If the cancer is found in lymph nodes or other places far away from the bladder, your treatment may be one of the following:

1. External-beam radiation therapy.

2. Surgery to make a way for urine to pass out of the body without going through the bladder (urinary diversion) to reduce symptoms.

3. Surgery to remove the bladder (cystectomy) and to make a urinary diversion to reduce symptoms.

4. Systemic chemotherapy alone or in addition to surgery.

5. A clinical trial of chemotherapy.

Source

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by Neil
Filed under: Bladder Cancer - Background, My Cancer