What Is Bladder Cancer?
The bladder is a hollow, flexible pouch in your pelvis that stores urine before it leaves your body. Kidneys produce urine, which travels through ureters to the bladder. When you urinate, bladder muscles push urine out through the urethra.
Bladder cancer occurs when cells inside the bladder grow uncontrollably, forming a tumor. Over time, it can spread to nearby tissues and, in advanced stages, to lymph nodes, bones, lungs, or liver.
Bladder cancer is relatively rare and accounts for about 5% of all new cancer cases.
What Are the Symptoms of Bladder Cancer?
The most common and often first symptom is blood in the urine:
- Urine may appear pink, orange, or dark red
- Blood may appear occasionally and then return later
- Sometimes blood is only visible under a microscope
Other symptoms include:
- Frequent urination
- Pain or burning during urination
- Sudden urge to urinate even when the bladder is not full
- Difficulty urinating or weak urine flow
- Changes in urine color
Advanced bladder cancer symptoms may include:
- Lower back pain
- Inability to urinate
- Unexplained weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Swollen feet
- Bone pain
- Extreme fatigue or weakness
Bladder Cancer Treatments
Treatment depends on factors such as age, cancer stage, and overall health. Common treatment options include:
Surgery
Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT):
- Most common treatment for early-stage bladder cancer
- A resectoscope is inserted through the urethra
- Used to remove tumors or abnormal tissue
- Remaining cancer cells may be destroyed using laser and cystoscope
Cystectomy:
- Partial cystectomy removes part of the bladder
- Radical cystectomy removes the entire bladder and nearby lymph nodes
- Used for more advanced or muscle-invasive cancers
Intravesical Therapy
This treatment delivers medication directly into the bladder using a catheter:
- Immunotherapy (BCG): Activates the immune system to fight cancer cells
- Intravesical Chemotherapy: Directly kills cancer cells in the bladder
Systemic Chemotherapy
- Given through an IV
- Travels through the bloodstream
- Targets cancer cells that may have spread beyond the bladder
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. It is similar to an X-ray but stronger and painless.
- May be given 5 days a week for several weeks
- Used for early-stage cancer when surgery is not possible
- Can be used after surgery like TURBT
- Helps relieve symptoms in advanced cancer
