Bladder Cancer - Treatment Overview
The choice of treatment and the long-term outcome (prognosis) for people who have bladder cancer depend on the stage and grade of cancer. When deciding about your treatment, your doctor also considers your age, overall health, and quality of life.
Bladder cancer has a better chance of being treated successfully if it is found early.
Understanding Bladder Cancer -- Diagnosis and Treatment
To diagnose bladder cancer, your doctor completes a thorough medical history and examination, often following with a referral to a urologist, a doctor who specializes in managing diseases of the bladder. The first test the urologist may perform is an intravenous pyelogram (IVP), followed by a cystoscopy. During a cystoscopy, the bladder can be viewed through a fiber-optic lighted tube known as a cystoscope. The urologist will pass the cystoscope through the urethra into the bladder. A urine sample...
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Treatment choices for bladder cancer may include:
- Surgery to remove the cancer. Surgery, either alone or along with other treatments, is used in more than 9 out of 10 cases.1 For more information, see Surgery.
- Chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells using medicines. Chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery. For more information, see Medications.
- Radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells using high-dose X-rays or other high-energy rays. Radiation therapy may also be given before or after surgery and may be given at the same time as chemotherapy. For more information, see Other Treatment.
- Immunotherapy . This treatment causes your body's natural defenses, known as your immune system, to attack bladder cancer cells. For more information, see Medications.
When you first find out that you have cancer, you may feel scared or angry. Or you may feel very calm. It's normal to have a wide range of feelings and for those feelings to change quickly. Some people find that it helps to talk about their feelings with family and friends.
If your emotional reaction to cancer gets in the way of your ability to make decisions about your health, it's important to talk with your doctor. Your cancer treatment center may offer psychological or financial services. And a local chapter of the American Cancer Society can help you find a support group.
For more information about specific bladder cancer treatments, see the topics:
- Bladder Cancer–Health Professional Information [NCI PDQ]
- Bladder Cancer–Patient Information [NCI PDQ]
Side effects of treatment
Most treatments for bladder cancer cause side effects. Side effects may differ, depending on the type of treatment used and your age and overall health.
- Side effects of chemotherapy may include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, or hair loss. There is also an increased chance of getting a serious infection during chemotherapy treatment. Mitomycin may cause skin peeling or a rash.
- Side effects of surgery depend on how extensive your surgery was to treat the stage of your cancer. Men may have erection problems after surgery if the bladder is removed (cystectomy). If you choose a surgeon who does many of these procedures, you will have fewer side effects and you will recover faster.
- Side effects of radiation may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain or discomfort when urinating, and bladder inflammation and scarring (radiation cystitis). You may also have an increased risk of infection.
- Side effects of immunotherapy vary depending on the medicine. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a tuberculosis vaccine used in countries outside the United States. With BCG, the side effects may include fever, joint pain, inflammation of the prostate, or disseminated tuberculosis.
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