Introduction
If you notice any changes in your urinary habits or the appearance of your urine, it's crucial to consult a healthcare provider, especially if you have risk factors for bladder cancer. Most often, bladder cancer might not be the cause, but your doctor will assess you for other conditions that could be serious.
Treatment Options
Bladder cancer has a high chance of returning, prompting ongoing research into prevention methods. One extensively studied approach is chemoprevention.
Chemoprevention aims to alter the bladder environment using safe agents with minimal side effects, reducing the likelihood of cancer development.
Vitamins and specific drugs are commonly researched as chemopreventives. While no method has proven effective on a large scale in preventing bladder cancer recurrence, ongoing studies focus on photodynamic therapy. This treatment deploys laser light activated by a special chemical to target tumors.
Before the therapy, a chemical is introduced into your bloodstream, making tumor cells more responsive to the laser light. The treatment specifically targets tumor cells, sparing surrounding healthy tissues. However, it's limited to early-stage cancers and not widely available in most American centers.
Follow-up Care
- After your treatment, a series of tests will assess its effectiveness in eliminating your cancer.
- If any cancer remains, your urologic oncologist will recommend further treatment. If no cancer is found, a follow-up schedule will be recommended. Tests will monitor for cancer recurrence, involving interval cystoscopies and urine tests if your bladder remains intact.
- For those who underwent radical cystectomy, follow-up care includes chest and abdomen imaging tests.
Prevention
- Preventing bladder cancer completely is challenging, but risk factors can be reduced:
- Quit smoking and avoid unsafe chemical exposures at work. Adequate fluid intake can help dilute potential cancer-causing substances in the bladder, flushing them out before harm occurs.