Urine is formed in kidneys and via ureters it goes into the urinary bladder. Further it is passed through urethra. Bladder cancer happens when normal cells in the bladder change into abnormal cells, and grow out of control.
Bladder cancer causes mild symptoms that can come and go. These include:
Urine tests – Urine tests can show what kind of cells are in the urine.
These tests create images of the entire urinary tract, which includes the kidneys, ureters, and the bladder. They can show tumors or abnormal growths.
Cystoscopy is a procedure that allows the doctor to look directly inside the bladder. To do a cystoscopy, the doctor inserts a small tube into the urethral opening, the opening through which urine leaves the body. Then he or she pushes the tube up into the bladder. The tube has a tiny camera that projects images of the bladder onto a screen. If the doctor sees anything unusual, he or she might take a sample of tissue (called a biopsy) to look at under the microscope.
If there is tumour in bladder, it is resected and sent for Biopsy. Biopsy will tell if
These tests are done to find out
Non Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (Ta, T1) :
Low grade – Trans Urethral Resection of Bladder tumour (TURBT) with Intravesical immunotherapy/ chemotherapy.
High grade –
Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (T2/3) :
Locally Advanced/ Nodal disease (T4, N1) :
Metastatic Bladder Cancer - Chemotherapy
In Radical Cystectomy, whole of bladder is removed and urine is diverted through one of the following ways
ureters are connected to a tube that drains through a hole on the surface of the skin. This is called a stoma/ileal conduit. This is made from small segment of small intestine. People who have a stoma must attach a bag around the outside of the stoma to collect urine
The ureters are connected to a pouch that collects urine and then connect it to the urethra. That way, urine can leave the body the same way it did before. (The pouch used in this procedure is basically a new bladder mad from around 50cm segment of small intestine. It is called as "neobladder".
In few patients ureters are directly opened to the skin as a temporary measure as they are not fit for any of the above procedures.