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Urology |
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Bladder Cancer
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What is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer is cancer affecting the urinary bladder.
Bladder cancer is a fairly common form of cancer and men are affected two to
three times more than women. Most bladder cancers occur after the age of 55.
The disease is not contagious. No one can "catch" bladder cancer from
another person.
What are the Causes?
Research shows that smoking
is a major risk factor. Workers in some occupations are at higher risk of
developing bladder cancer because of exposure to carcinogens (cancer causing
substances) in the workplace. These workers include people in the rubber,
chemical, and leather industries, as well as hairstylists, machinists, metal
workers, printers, painters, textile workers, and truck drivers.
What are the Symptoms?
The most common warning sign of bladder cancer is blood in
the urine. "Total painless hematuria" in an elderly person is a
dictum associated with bladder cancer. Depending on the amount of blood
present, the color of the urine can range from faintly rusty to deep red.
Pain during urination can also be a sign of bladder cancer.
A need to urinate often or urgently may be another warning sign. Often, bladder
tumors cause no symptoms.
When symptoms do occur, they are not sure signs of cancer.
They may also be caused by infections, benign tumors, bladder stones, or other
problems. It is important to see a doctor to determine the cause of the
symptoms.
How to diagnose?
To diagnose bladder cancer, a personal and family medical
history is taken and a thorough physical examination is conducted. Often, the
doctor orders an Ultrasonograpy or x-ray called an IntraVenous Urogram (IVU). A
biopsy is needed to make a definite diagnosis of bladder cancer.
What are the Treatments?
Treatment for bladder cancer depends on a number of factors.
These are:
- How
quickly the cancer is growing?
- The
number, size, and location of the tumors,
- Whether
the cancer has spread to other organs
- The
patient's age and general health.
Before treatment begins, it is important to know exactly
where the cancer is located and whether it has spread from its original
location. Staging procedures include a complete physical exam and additional
blood tests and scans such as CT scan, Ultrasound or MRI .
Early (superficial) bladder cancer in which, the tumors are
found superficially in the bladder wall generally can be treated using the
cystoscope in a procedure called transurethral resection of the bladder tumor
(TUR-BT). The entire tumor can be removed cystoscopically.
When several tumors are present in the
bladder or when there is a risk that the cancer will recur, TURBT may be
followed by treatment with drugs. The doctor may put a solution containing the
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a form of biological therapy, directly
into the bladder. Chemotherapy (anticancer drugs) may also be inserted
directly into the bladder. Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy)
may be needed when the cancer cannot be removed with TUR because it involves a
larger area of the bladder.
When the cancer involves much of the surface of the bladder
or has grown into the bladder wall infiltrating into the bladder muscles,
standard treatment is to remove the entire bladder.
This surgery is called a Radical Cystectomy. In this
operation, the surgeon removes the bladder as well as nearby organs. In women,
this operation includes removing the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and part
of the vagina. In men, the prostate and seminal vesicles are removed.
When cancer involves the pelvis or has spread to other parts
of the body, chemotherapy may be required.
The methods used to treat bladder cancer are very powerful.
Side effects depend on the type of treatment used and on the part of the body
being treated.
What are the side
Effects?
When the bladder is
removed, the patient needs a new way to store and pass urine. A newer method
uses part of the small intestine to make a new storage pouch (called a
continent reservoir) inside the body. The urine collects there and does not
empty into a bag. Instead, the patient learns to use a tube (catheter) to drain
the urine through a stoma. Other methods are being developed that connect a
pouch made from the small intestine to a remaining part of the urethra.
When this procedure is
possible, a stoma and bag are not necessary because urine leaves the body
through the urethra.
Radical Cystectomy
causes infertility in both men and women. This operation can also lead to
sexual problems. In the past, nearly all men were impotent following this
procedure, but improvements in surgery have made it possible to prevent this in
many men. In women, the vagina may be narrower or shallower, and intercourse
may be difficult.
During radiation
therapy, patients may become very tired as the treatment continues. Resting as
much as possible is important. Radiation treatment to the lower abdomen may
cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Usually, certain foods or medications can ease these problems. Radiation
therapy can also cause problems with fertility and can make sexual intercourse
uncomfortable.
Chemotherapy causes
side effects because it damages not only cancer cells but other rapidly growing
cells as well. The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the specific drugs
that are given. In addition, each patient reacts differently.
Chemotherapy commonly
affects blood-forming cells and cells that line the digestive tract. As a result,
patients may have side effects such as a lowered resistance to infection, loss
of appetite, loss of hair, nausea and vomiting, less energy, and mouth sores.
These are short-term side effects that usually end after treatment stops. When
drugs are put directly into the bladder, these side effects may be limited.
However, it is common for the bladder to be irritated.
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| Prince Court, Kuala Lumpur |
Kuala Lumpur
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Prince Court, Kuala Lumpur
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| Max Health Care |
New Delhi
{India} |
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Max Healthcare, is a subsidiary of Max India Limited, a Delhi based provider |
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Berhad
{Malaysia} |
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KPJ Healthcare, Berhad
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Banbkok
{Thailand} |
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Founded in 1979, Samitivej Hospitals is one of the leading private
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