Symptoms of Bladder Cancer
- Blood or blood clots in the urine
- Pain or burning sensation during urination
- Frequent urination(frequency)
- Feeling the need to urinate many times throughout the night(nocturia)
- Feeling the need to urinate, but not being able to pass urine
- Lower back pain on 1 side of the body
Bladder Cancer: Diagnosis
bladder cancer:
- Urine tests. Cytology, kit tests
- Ultrasound
- Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Positron emission tomography (PET) or PET-CT scan.
Bladder Cancer Treatment
- Cystoscopy is the key diagnostic procedure for bladder cancer.
- It allows the urologist to see inside the body with a thin, lighted, flexible/rigid tube called a cystoscope.
Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT)
- Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). If abnormal tissue is found during a cystoscopy, the urologist will do a biopsy. A biopsy is the removal of a small amount of tissue for examination under a microscope. This surgical procedure is called a transurethral bladder tumor resection or TURBT.
- A TURBT is used to diagnose bladder cancer and find out the type of tumor, how deeply it has grown into the layers of the bladder, and identify any additional microscopic cancerous changes, called carcinoma in situ (CIS)
- A TURBT can also be used as a treatment for a non-muscle-invasive tumor.
FAQ's For Bladder Cancer
The bladder is an expandable, hollow organ in the pelvis that stores urine before it leaves the body during urination. This function makes the bladder an important part of the urinary tract.
The bladder, like other parts of the urinary tract, is lined with a layer of cells called the urothelium. This layer of cells is separated from the bladder wall muscles, called the muscularis propria, by a thin, fibrous band called the lamina propria.
Bladder cancer begins when healthy cells in the bladder lining change and grow out of control, forming a mass called a tumor.
What are the tumour types?
A tumor can be cancerous or benign.
A cancerous tumor is malignant, meaning it can grow and spread to reach other parts of the body.
A benign tumor means the tumor can grow but will not spread.
Types of bladder cancer
There are three main types of bladder cancers:
- Urothelial carcinoma(most common). accounts for about 90% of all bladder cancers. It starts in the urothelial cells found in the lining the bladder. Urothelial carcinoma is the common term for this type of bladder cancer. Previously, it was called transitional cell carcinoma or TCC.
- Squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cells develop in the bladder lining in response to irritation and inflammation (like patients on prong catheterization). Over time these cells may become cancerous. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 4% of all bladder cancers.
- Adenocarcinoma. This type accounts for about 2% of all bladder cancers and develops from glandular cells.
- Bladder cancer is also described as non-muscle-invasive or muscle-invasive, depending on whether it has grown into or through the muscle of the bladder wall.
What do stage and grade mean?
- The stage is a way of describing where the cancer is located, if or where it has spread, and whether it is affecting other parts of the body.
- There are 5 stages for bladder cancer: stage 0 (zero) and stages I through IV (1 through 4).
- The tumor may also be given a grade, which describes how much cancer cells look like healthy cells when viewed under a microscope
The treatment of bladder cancer depends on the type, stage, and grade of the tumor; possible side effects; and the patient’s preferences and overall health.
Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer(NMIBC)
non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the tumor is usually completely removed during a procedure called transurethral bladder tumor resection (TURBT).
Muscle-invasive bladder cancer
In MIBC treatment involves surgery to remove the entire bladder and nearby lymph nodes is usually recommended. This is called cystectomy.
Common Terms
Biopsy: Removal of a tissue sample that is then examined under a microscope by pathologist to check for cancer cells
Catheter: A hollow tube that is inserted through the urethra to drain urine or deliver drugs for intravesical chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy: The use of drugs to kill cancer cells
Cystoscopy: Procedure in which a urologist places a cystoscope (a small, hollow viewing tube) through the urethra to look into the bladder
Immunotherapy: The use of materials made either by the body or in a laboratory to improve, target, or restore immune system function
Metastasis: The spread of cancer from where it began to another part of the body
Prognosis: Chance of recovery Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells
Tumor: An abnormal growth of body tissue
TURBT(transurethral resection of bladder tumour): Procedure that removes the tumor with a small wire loop, a laser, or high-energy electricity
Urologic oncologist: A Urologist who specializes in treating cancers of the urinary tract