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Bladder Cancer - Topic Overview
What is bladder cancer?
Cancer is the growth of abnormal cells in the body. These extra cells grow together and form masses, called tumors. In bladder cancer, these growths happen in the bladder.
The bladder is the part of your
urinary tract that stores your urine until you are
ready to let it out. See a picture of the
female urinary system
or
male urinary system.
Bladder cancer can usually be cured if it is found and treated early. And most bladder cancer is found early.
What causes bladder cancer?
We don't know what causes bladder cancer. But being exposed to certain chemicals or cigarette smoking raises your risk. And like other cancers, changes in the DNA of your cells seem to play a role. Also, when the lining of the bladder is irritated for a long time, cell changes that lead to cancer may occur. Some things that cause this are radiation treatment, having catheters in place for a long time, or having the parasite that causes schistosomiasis.
What are the symptoms?
Blood in the urine is the main symptom. Other symptoms may include having to urinate often or feeling pain when you urinate.
These symptoms can be caused by other problems, including a urinary tract infection. Always call your doctor if you see blood in your urine.
How is bladder cancer diagnosed?
To diagnose bladder cancer, your doctor will:
- Ask about your medical history and do a physical exam, including a vaginal or rectal exam.
- Test your urine to look for blood or abnormal cells.
- Do a cystoscopy, a test that lets your doctor look into your bladder with a thin, lighted viewing tool. Small tissue samples (biopsies) are taken and looked at under a microscope to find out if there are cancer cells.
How is it treated?
Treatment choices for bladder cancer include:
- Surgery to remove any cancer. Sometimes lasers or other methods can be used to get rid of tumors.
- Chemotherapy, which uses medicine to destroy cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy, which causes your body's natural defense system to attack bladder cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy, which uses high-dose X-rays to kill cancer cells.
The treatment depends a lot on how much the cancer has grown. Most bladder cancers are treated without having to remove the bladder.
Sometimes doctors do have to remove the bladder. For some people, this means having urine flow into a bag outside of the body. But in many cases, doctors can make a new bladder-using other body tissue-that works very much like the old one.
Bladder cancer often comes back. The new tumors can often be treated easily if they are caught early. So it’s very important to have regular checkups after your treatment is done.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
An experimental treatment for bladder cancer is helping some patients avoid radical surgery.
