Grade 3 Bladder Cancer Life Expectancy

Is Bladder Cancer Treatable

Grading/Staging of Bladder Cancer

Many types of therapy are used to treat bladder cancer. In general, the treatment pathway chosen depends on the type and stage of bladder cancer present and a patients overall health and individual preferences. Common treatment options include:

Surgery: to remove tumor cells and surrounding tissue. The type of surgery used depends on factors such as the size and progression of the tumor.
Chemotherapy: which refers to the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be local or systemic .
Immunotherapy: which uses naturally occurring or man-made substances to improve or bolster the bodys immune system function. Like with chemotherapy, immunotherapy may be delivered locally or systemically.
Radiation therapy: which uses x-rays or other high-energy waves or particles to kill cancer cells.

What Is The First Sign Of Bladder Cancer

Blood in the urine, referred to as hematuria, is usually the first sign of bladder cancer. This is because early bladder cancer commonly causes bleeding without associated pain or other symptoms.

Depending on the amount of blood present, urine may appear pink, red, or brownish in color.
Blood may not be present all the time – there may be relatively long periods of clear urine .

If you have noticed blood in your urine it is important to speak to your doctor as soon as possible.

Other early symptoms of bladder cancer that may be experienced are urinary irritation or changes in bladder habits, such as increased urination frequency and/or urgency, pain or a burning sensation during urination, or difficulty passing urine.

Staging Spread And Survival Rates

As with all cancers, doctors use the term stage to describe the characteristics of the primary tumor itself, such as its size and how far prostate cancer has spread when it is found.

Staging systems are complicated. The staging system for most cancers, including prostate cancer, uses three different aspects of tumor growth and spread. Its called the TNM system, for tumor, nodes, and metastasis:

T, for tumor describes the size of the main area of prostate cancer.
N, for nodes, describes whether prostate cancer has spread to any lymph nodes, and how many and in what locations.
M, for metastasis, means distant spread of prostate cancer, for example, to the bones or liver.

Using the TNM system, each mans prostate cancer can be described in detail and compared to other mens prostate cancer. Doctors use this information for studies and to decide on treatments.

As far as survival rates for prostate cancer go, however, the staging system is pretty simple. As weve mentioned, in terms of survival rates, men with prostate cancer can be divided into two groups:

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What Causes Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer occurs when cells within the lining of the bladder wall begin to grow in a disordered, uncontrolled way.

Exactly what prompts this disordered growth is not fully known. However, several factors associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer have been identified, including:

Age – most people diagnosed with bladder cancer are older than 55 years.
Sex – compared to women, men are 4 times more likely to develop bladder cancer.
Smoking – smoking is associated with around half of all bladder cancers in men and women.
Race – in the United States, White Americans have the highest rate of bladder cancer.
Previous bladder cancer – people who have had bladder cancer may have a recurrence.
Workplace exposures – certain chemicals in some workplaces may contribute to higher rates of bladder cancer in workers. For example, painters, hairdressers, and truck drivers are at increased risk.
Arsenic in drinking water.
Certain types of medication.

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Stage 3 Cancer Survival Rate

The life expectancy of a patient diagnosed with cancer depends upon various factors like age, overall health of the patient, type of cancer, when it is detected, available treatment options, and response of the patient to the treatment. Read on to know about the survival rates for various cancers..

Development of cancer is divided into stages. Staging helps design proper treatment for the patient. Each year, millions of people are diagnosed with cancer worldwide. Detection of the condition in early stages helps increase the life expectancy of the patient. Usually, it is easier to remove cancer when it is in the initial stage. Thus, the growth of cancerous cells can be controlled. It is comparatively difficult to treat it, if it has reached the third or fourth stage.

Staging

First Stage: Growth of cancerous cells in the form of very small tumors is termed as stage one. There exist several types of cancers, and experts have determined the sizes of tumors for each stage for each type. During the first stage, cancer is confined to the local area .

Survival Rate

Type of Cancer

Bladder Cancer And Its Stages

Bladder cancer is a disease that can have varying symptoms and severity according to its stage. The estimated life expectancy of people who are diagnosed with bladder cancer is dependent on their condition and treatment.

The stages of bladder cancer have different levels of effects to the patient. Although living with bladder cancer can be difficult and challenging, do not lose hope as some of the stages of bladder cancer can be treated.

If people with bladder cancer receive treatment early on the first stage of cancer, the symptoms can be neutralized. The stages of bladder cancer usually depend on the formation of cancer in other parts of the body. If the first stage is managed early, the spread of cancer can be stopped.

What Goes Into A Prognosis

When figuring out your prognosis, your healthcare provider will consider all the things that could affect the cancer and its treatment. He or she will look at risk estimates about the exact type and stage of the cancer you have. These estimates are based on what results researchers have seen over many years in thousands of people with the same type and stage of cancer.

If your cancer is likely to respond well to treatment, your healthcare provider will say you have a favorable prognosis. This means youre expected to live many years and may even be cured. If your cancer is likely to be hard to control, your prognosis may be less favorable. The cancer may shorten your life. Its important to keep in mind that a prognosis states whats likely or probable. It’s not a prediction of what will definitely happen. No healthcare provider can be fully certain about an outcome.

Your prognosis depends mainly on:

The type and location of the cancer
The stage of the cancer
Your overall health
Your treatment decisions

Other Types Of Bladder Cancer

Bladder Cancer: The Basics | Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute

Approximately 2% of bladder cancers are adenocarcinomas. Nonurothelial primary bladder tumors are extremely rare and may include small cell carcinoma, carcinosarcoma, primary lymphoma, and sarcoma . Small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder accounts for only 0.3-0.7% of all bladder tumors. High-grade urothelial carcinomas can also show divergent histologic differentiation, such as squamous, glandular, neuroendocrine, and sarcomatous features.

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Small Cell Cancer Survival Rate

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Of the over 220,000 people in the US each diagnosed with lung cancer, about 10-15% of them will be diagnosed with the subtype of small cell lung cancer. While all lung cancers are serious, the prognosis for small cell lung cancer is especially dire.

In small cell lung cancer, the cancer cells are small and have the capacity to divide quickly and metastasize, meaning that surgery tends not to be the top option for treatment. Rather, since the cancer cells are so aggressive, chemotherapy tends to be the optimal induction treatment for this patient population.

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What Are The Complications

At this stage, treatment will likely involve removing your bladder.

Without treatment, or if treatment fails, stage 3 bladder cancer can progress to invade distant tissues and organs.

When theres no sign of cancer, youre in a state of remission. Even if youve finished treatment, youll need plenty of follow-up care. Your doctor will provide a plan for recovery, which may include:

information about late or long-term side effects
diet, exercise, and self-care recommendations
schedule for regular checkups
schedule for bladder cancer tests and screening tests for other types of cancer
information about signs of recurrence

What To Do Before And After Treatment

Talk with your doctors about whether you need to do anything to prepare for treatment and help your recovery. Some things they may suggest are to:

Stop smoking if you smoke, aim to quit before starting treatment. If you keep smoking, you may not respond as well to treatment and you may have more treatment-related side effects. Continuing to smoke also increases your risk of cancer returning.
Begin or continue an exercise program exercise will help build up your strength for treatment and recovery. It can also help you deal with side effects of treatment.
Improve diet aim to eat a balanced diet with a variety of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and protein. Eating well can improve your strength and you may respond better to treatment.
See a physiotherapist they can teach you exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which help control how your bladder and bowel work. These exercises are useful if you have a neobladder, a partial cystectomy, or radiation therapy.

Stage 3 Bladder Cancer

Stage 3 bladder cancer means that the cancer cells have spread beyond the bladder muscle.1,2,3 Stage 3 bladder cancer includes the following combined TNM stages:

In all three types of stage 3 bladder cancer, the cancer cells have not spread to the lymph nodes near the bladder and they have not spread to other parts of the body.

In a bladder tumor that is stage T3a or stage T3b, the bladder cancer cells have grown into the layer of fatty tissue that surrounds the outside of the bladder. This layer of fatty tissue is called perivesical tissue.

In a stage T3a bladder tumor, the bladder cancer cells in the perivesical tissue are only visible through a microscope. In a stage T3b bladder tumor, the bladder cancer cells have grown into the perivesical tissue and are large enough that they are visible using an imaging test or they can be felt by a healthcare professional. A stage T4a bladder tumor is different in women and men. In women, the stage T4a tumor has grown through the perivesical tissue and into the uterus and/or vagina. In men, the stage T4a tumor has grown through the perivesical tissue and into the prostate. However, in both women and men, a stage T4a tumor has not grown into the pelvic wall or the abdominal wall.

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Understanding The Statistics: Cancer Survival

It is important to remember that all cancer survival numbers are based on averages across huge numbers of people. These numbers cannot predict what will happen in your individual case.

Survival rates will not tell you how long you will live after you have been diagnosed with bladder cancer. But, these numbers can give you an idea of how likely your treatment will be successful. Also, survival rates take into account your age at diagnosis but not whether you have other health conditions too.

Side Effects Of Treatment For Bladder Cancer

All cancer treatments can have side effects. Your treatment team will discuss these with you before you start treatment. Talk to your doctor or nurse about any side effects you are experiencing. Some side effects can be upsetting and difficult, but there is help if you need it.

or email to speak with a caring cancer nurse for support.

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Treating Stage Ii Bladder Cancer

These cancers have invaded the muscle layer of the bladder wall , but no farther. Transurethral resection is typically the first treatment for these cancers, but it’s done to help determine the extent of the cancer rather than to try to cure it.

When the cancer has invaded the muscle, radical cystectomy is the standard treatment. Lymph nodes near the bladder are often removed as well. If cancer is in only one part of the bladder, a partial cystectomy may be done instead. But this is possible in only a small number of patients.

Radical cystectomy may be the only treatment for people who are not well enough to get chemo. But most doctors prefer to give chemo before surgery because it’s been shown to help patients live longer than surgery alone. When chemo is given first, surgery is delayed. This is not a problem if the chemo shrinks the bladder cancer, but it might be harmful if the tumor continues to grow during chemo.

If cancer is found in nearby lymph nodes, radiation may be needed after surgery. Another option is chemo, but only if it wasn’t given before surgery.

For people who have had surgery, but the features of the tumor show it is at high risk of coming back, the immunotherapy drug, nivolumab, might be offered. When given after surgery, nivolumab is given for up to one year.

For patients who cant have surgery because of other serious health problems, TURBT, radiation, chemotherapy, or some combination of these may be options.

Bladder Cancer Survival Trends Over Time

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Bladder cancer survival trends are difficult to interpret because of changes to classification and coding practices affecting the definition of invasive carcinoma of the bladder.The decrease in bladder cancer survival since the 1990s is likely to be due to an increasing proportion of bladder tumours now being coded as in situ or uncertain.

One-year age-standardised net survival for bladder cancer in men has increased from 63% during 1971-1972 to 80% during 1990-1991 and then decreased to 77% during 2010-2011 in England and Wales. In women, one-year survival has increased from 53% to 70% and then decreased to 62% over the same time periods.

Bladder Cancer , Age-Standardised One-Year Net Survival, Adults , England and Wales, 1971-2011

Five-year age-standardised net survival for bladder cancer in men has increased from 41% during 1971-1972 to 63% during 1990-1991 and then decreased to a predicted survival of 57% during 2010-2011 in England and Wales. In women, five-year survival has increased from 35% to 55% and then decreased to 46% over the same time periods.

Bladder Cancer , Age-Standardised Five-Year Net Survival, Adults , England and Wales, 1971-2011

Five-year survival for 2010-2011 is predicted using an excess hazard statistical model

Bladder Cancer , Age-Standardised Ten-Year Net Survival, Adults , England and Wales, 1971-2011

Ten-year survival for 2005-2006 and 2010-2011 is predicted using an excess hazard statistical model

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Low Grade And High Grade Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer starts in the lining of the bladder in about 90 percent of people diagnosed with this cancer. Bladder cancer is called low grade or high grade.

Low-grade bladder cancer means the cancer has not invaded the muscles around the bladder . People rarely die from this type of bladder cancer, it often recurs after treatment.
High-grade bladder cancer also often recurs and has a higher chance of spreading to other parts of the body. Almost all deaths from bladder cancer result this type so it is treated more aggressively.

Palliative Or Supportive Care

If your cancer is at an advanced stage and can’t be cured, your medical team should discuss how the cancer will progress and which treatments are available to ease the symptoms.

You can be referred to a palliative care team, who can provide support and practical help, including pain relief.

Page last reviewed: 01 July 2021 Next review due: 01 July 2024

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Bladder Reconstructions And Stomas

If you have had your bladder removed, the way you pass urine will change. There are several options that your treatment team will talk to you about:

Urostomy is where doctors create a new hole in your abdomen called a stoma. Urine drains from the stoma to the outside of your abdomen into a special bag.
Neobladder is where a new bladder made from your small bowel forms a pouch inside your body to store urine. You will pass urine by squeezing your abdominal muscles. You will also pass a small tube into the neobladder each day to help drain the urine.
Continent urinary diversion is a pouch made from your small bowel inside your body to store urine. The urine empties through a hole called a stoma to the outside of your abdomen into a special bag.

A bladder reconstruction is a big change in your life. You can speak with a continence or stomal therapy nurse for help, support and information. You can also call Cancer Council . You may be able to speak with a trained Cancer Council volunteer who has had cancer for tips and support.

If you find it difficult to adjust after your bladder reconstruction, it may help to be referred to a psychologist or counsellor.

Note: If you have a stoma, you can join a stoma association for support and free supplies. For more information about stoma associations, visit the Australian Council of Stoma Associations.