The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2009, there will be 70,980 new diagnoses of bladder cancer in the United States. Surgery is a common treatment for bladder cancer, and there will often be subsequent treatments after surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back.
Intravesical Therapy
If the entire bladder has not been surgically removed, a treatment called intravesical therapy may be done. This therapy puts medication directly in the bladder through a catheter. The most commonly used intravesical therapy is Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy. This medicine works with the body's immune system to help kill the cancer. Interferon, another medication that helps boost the immune system, can also be put directly into the bladder. Chemotherapy can also be administered intravesically, but the drugs are contained by the bladder, and cannot kill cancer cells anywhere else in the body.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can also be administered orally, intravenously or injected into a muscle. If the chemotherapy is given this way, it is able to circulate throughout the body and is not limited to the bladder. This way, if any microscopic cancer cells have spread through the body, the chemotherapy can kill them.
Radiation Therapy
External radiation therapy can be used in treating bladder cancer, or the radiation may be sealed in pellets and placed into the bladder to kill the cancer. If radiation is given after surgery, it can help kill any remaining cancer cells that surgery was not able to completely remove.
Experimental Treatment
Clinical trials are studies that allow researchers to use experimental treatments under extremely close supervision to see if these treatments are more effective than current ones. Participants are fully informed of all the risks and benefits, and are monitored the entire time for any side effects. Participants can leave the study at any time, and it will not affect their level of care. If you would like more information about clinical trials, talk to your doctor about whether there are any clinical trials for bladder cancer for you may be eligible.
