What Are The Best Treatment Centers For Bladder Cancer
Most of the time, initial treatment of bladder cancer is based on the tumors clinical stage its size and how deep it has grown into the bladder wall. The long-term outlook for stage 0is bladder cancer is not as good as for stage 0a cancers. These cancers have a higher risk of coming back, and may return as a more
What Are The Risk Factors For Bladder Cancer
Some factors increase the risk of bladder cancer:
- Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor it more than doubles the risk. Pipe and cigar smoking and exposure to second-hand smoking may also increase ones risk.
- Prior radiation exposure is the next most common risk factor .
- Certain chemotherapy drugs also increase the risk of bladder cancer.
- Environmental exposures increase the risk of bladder cancer. People who work with chemicals, such as aromatic amines are at risk. Extensive exposure to rubber, leather, some textiles, paint, and hairdressing supplies, typically related to occupational exposure, also appears to increase the risk.
- Infection with a parasite known as Schistosoma haematobium, which is more common in developing countries and the Middle East.
- People who have frequent infections of the bladder, bladder stones, or other diseases of the urinary tract, or who have chronic need for a catheter in the bladder, may be at higher risk of squamous cell carcinoma.
- Patients with a previous bladder cancer are at increased risk to form new or recurrent bladder tumors.
Other risk factors include diets high in fried meats and animal fats, and older age. In addition, men have a three-fold higher risk than women.
What Is The Most Advanced Stage Of Cancer
The most advanced stage of cancer is stage 4. The stage of cancer denotes where cancer cells are in the body and how much of the body is affected. Some forms of cancer have a stage 0, but most use stages 1 to 4. Doctors will confirm the stage at the time of diagnosis, and this number will not change. Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of cancer.
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Whats A Bladder Spasm
Have you heard of the term bladder spasm? If you have an overactive bladder or incontinence, its likely that you have experienced them.
Bladder spasms are when the bladder muscle squeezes suddenly, without warning, making you feel like you need to empty your bladder immediately. This is one of the hallmark symptoms of Overactive Bladder the urgent and frequent needs to urinate, and can sometimes also result in urge incontinence if youre unable to make it to the bathroom in time.
You Can Train Yourself To Not Need To Urinate As Often
This sweater-vested man’s got to go!
“I see a lot of patients with complaints of frequent urination, or overactive bladder,” Brucker says. “But a lot of the time, it’s just a matter of them breaking the habit of peeing every opportunity they have, because then they end up peeing 25 times per day.”
Simply holding it for a bit instead of going the second you feel the need to pee will gradually strengthen both the mental communication circuit responsible for keeping your bladder from emptying and the actual muscles that let you do so.
if all else fails, there’s a secret move you can whip out in dire circumstances
If you’re stuck in a situation where you do need to hold it for an especially long time, there are some things you can do. WikiHow’s exquisitely illustrated guide has some interesting tips: It’s good to cross your legs if standing, but not if you’re sitting . Don’t move too much, don’t drink anything, and try to think about something totally unrelated to your overwhelming urge to pee.
If this all fails, there’s a secret move you can whip out in especially dire circumstances, though it requires advance preparation. It’s called the knack maneuver, and both men and women can develop the ability to execute it by doing exercises similar to Kegel exercises over time. Essentially, you try to squeeze the muscles that make up your pelvic floor, then intentionally cough or pretend to sneeze .
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What Are The Treatment Options For Bladder Cancer
There are four types of treatment for patients with bladder cancer. These include:
Sometimes, combinations of these treatments will be used.
Surgical options
Surgery is a common treatment option for bladder cancer. The type of surgery chosen will depend on the stage of the cancer.
- Transurethral resection of the bladder is used most often for early stage disease . It is done under general or spinal anesthesia. In this procedure, a special telescope called a resectoscope is inserted through the urethra into the bladder. The tumor is then trimmed away with the resectoscope, using a wire loop, and the raw surface of the bladder is then fulgurated .
- Partial cystectomy is the removal of a section of the bladder. At times, it is used for a single tumor that invades the bladder wall in only one region of the bladder. This type of surgery retains most of the bladder. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy is often used in combination. Only a minority of patients will qualify for this bladder-sparing procedure.
- Radical cystectomy is complete removal of the bladder. It is used for more extensive cancers and those that have spread beyond the bladder .
Chemotherapy
What Is Bladder Cancer
Cancer can start any place in the body. Cancer that starts in the bladder is called bladder cancer. It starts when cells in the bladder grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. This makes it hard for the body to work the way it should.
Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. For instance, cancer cells in the bladder can travel to the bone and grow there. When cancer cells spread, its called metastasis.
Cancer is always named for the place where it starts. So when bladder cancer spreads to the bone , its still called bladder cancer. Its not called bone cancer unless it starts in the bone.
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How Does The Urinary System Work
Urination, or voiding, is a complex activity. The bladder is a balloon-like organ that lies in the lowest part of the abdomen. The bladder stores urine, then releases it through the urethra, the canal that carries urine to the outside of the body. Controlling this activity involves nerves, muscles, the spinal cord, and the brain. The bladder is composed of two types of muscles: the detrusor, a muscular sac that stores urine and squeezes to empty and the sphincter, a circular group of muscles at the bottom or neck of the bladder that automatically stay contracted to hold the urine in and automatically relax when the detrusor contracts to let the urine into the urethra. A third group of muscles below the bladder can contract to keep urine back. A babys bladder fills to a set point, then automatically contracts and empties. As the child gets older, the nervous system matures. The childs brain begins to get messages from the filling bladder and begins to send messages to the bladder to keep it from automatically emptying until the child decides it is the time and place to void. Incontinence happens less often after age 5: About 10 percent of 5-year-olds, 5 percent of 10-year-olds, and 1 percent of 18-year-olds experience episodes of incontinence. It is twice as common in boys as in girls. Failures in this control mechanism result in incontinence. Reasons for this failure range from simple to complex.
Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor Muscles
Millions who suffer with urinary incontinence feel like their bladder controls their lives. Control depends on muscles working together. This simple step can control your bladder!
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
When the bladder fills, the bladder muscles should be relaxed and the muscles around the urethra , called the pelvic floor muscles, should be tight. Exercises that strengthen these muscles can help prevent leakage and calm the urge to go. These are commonly called âKegelâ exercises, named after the doctor who developed them. They can help keep your pelvic floor muscles toned and may reduce your problems with leakage or frequent urges to urinate.
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What Drinks Are Good For Your Bladder
When trying to figure out how to keep your urinary system healthy, consider these healthy drinks.
Water: You can help prevent incontinence by drinking enough water.
Kohli tea: This tea is an extract from a subtropical plant that grows in southern China. Its a sweet tea sold over the counter in Japan for its antioxidant benefits. It also has a protective effect on your bladder. A study on kohli tea found it had a substantial protective effect in rabbits with partial bladder obstruction in terms of contractile responses and bladder function.
Cranberry juice: Researchers report cranberry juice could help prevent bacteria from turning into a urinary tract infection within
Pear or apple juice: If you drink fruit juice, switch it to a less acidic juice like pear or apple juice and dilute it with water.
Diluted squash: You can take diluted squash, but try and avoid squash and blackcurrant containing sugar alternatives like saccharin and aspartame, which can irritate the bladder.
Fruit and herbal teas: Fruit and herbal teas come in many varieties and are typically free of caffeine. Ginseng, however, can stimulate the bladder and could increase the urgency and frequency of urination.
Lemon water: Lemon is vitamin C-rich and a powerful antioxidant that alkalizes your body. It helps hinder bacterial growth. Additionally, it acts like a diuretic agent, flushing harmful toxins out from your urinary tract, helping prevent UTI recurrence.
Information For Healthcare Providers On Bladder Control Problems
The content on this page will be of most use to clinicians, such as nurses, doctors, pharmacists, specialists and other healthcare providers.
The following signs and symptoms are cause for concern and require referral to a specialist for further investigation:
| Red flags for referral in people with incontinence |
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Males with urinary incontinence and any of the following factors should be referred to an appropriate specialist within 2 weeks:
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Consideration for referral to a urologist should be given to patients with the following factors:
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Take Charge Of Your Health With Cxbladder
Early detection saves lives and is a crucial factor when it comes to the treatment of bladder cancer. Cxbladder is a clinically proven cutting-edge genomic urine test that quickly and accurately detects or rules out bladder cancer in patients presenting with blood in the urine and those being monitored for recurrence. The test works at a molecular level, measuring five biomarker genes to detect the presence or absence of bladder cancer.
Cxbladder is discreet, quick, non-invasive and painless, typically giving you meaningful results within five working days. It comes as a suite of test options, each optimized for a different point in the patient journey.
- Triage: Incorporates known bladder cancer risk factors to help rapidly rule out the disease.
- Detect: Designed to work alongside other tests to improve overall detection accuracy.
- Monitor: Optimised for bladder cancer surveillance, reducing the need for further invasive tests
Cxbladder gives you peace of mind and will help your doctor make informed treatment decisions. Speak to your general practitioner or urologist to learn more about Cxbladder and which test might be right for you. You can also contact our Customer Service Team directly.Contact us for more information
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A Bladder Training Program
We recommend working with a continence nurse specialist or men’s women’s and pelvic health physotherapist to design a bladder training program to suit your individual needs. Bladder training programs may take up to three months, with weekly or fortnighly appointments to monitor your progress and measure your improvement.
At the start of a bladder training program, you will be asked to keep a bladder diary. Every time you pass urine, you record the date, time and how much urine you pass. You will also need to record the amount of fluid that you consume each day. This will need to be done for a few days to see how much your bladder holds and how often you need to empty it. You should also include comments about leaking or other symptoms such as burning or pain.
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Mistake #: Not Drinking Enough Water
Many urinary complaints are related to poor hydration. Generally speaking, if your urine is clear or very light, thats a sign you are drinking the right amount of water. If your urine is dark yellow or amber, thats usually a sign of dehydration.
Odor, an off color, and the sense of burning while voiding are other signs that might indicate you are not properly hydrated. Not drinking enough water can contribute to UTIs and kidney stones. Concentrated urine can irritate the lining of the bladder, making it more sensitive. It is also more likely to form kidney or bladder stones.
Many patients ask if drinking alternative fluids will suffice, but many beverages contain high sugar concentrations or caffeine, which can have other health effects, says Dr. Brito, noting these might make overactive bladder symptoms worse. Water is the safest option to maintain hydration and keep your kidneys and bladder healthy.
There are some conditions that can make your urine appear more concentrated even if you are well-hydrated, such as liver problems or hematuria. So, if you are drinking enough water but have dark-colored urine, odor, or burning, its worth a trip to a urologist, who can evaluate your symptoms more closely.
The ability to urinate freely and without difficulty is taken for granted by most people, says Dr. Brito. So, next time you have to go, follow the above advice for better urinary health.
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Promoting General Bladder Health
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How Is Recurrence Tested
After your treatment for bladder cancer has ended, your healthcare providers will monitor you regularly during check-ups for signs and symptoms that your cancer may have recurred.1,2 This might involve tests such as physical examinations, urine tests, blood tests, and/or imaging tests.
Active surveillance is a type of follow-up that involves monitoring a patients condition with specialized tests for signs that the patients condition is getting worse. Usually, treatment is not needed unless the results of the test show that the condition has changed.
It is very important to continue visiting your healthcare provider regularly as scheduled for check-ups, especially if you are receiving active surveillance. Treatment for bladder cancer recurrence tends to be more effective when the recurrence is detected as early as possible.
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Your Urine Doesn’t Actually Need To Be Clear
There’s a widespread belief that, ideally, your urine should be perfectly clear at all times a sign that you’re well-hydrated. In reality, however, having totally clear urine may be a sign that you’re actually drinking too much water.
“Generally, if someone is well-hydrated, the urine is going to be on the clear side, and if they’re less hydrated it will be darker,” Brucker says. “But it’s a myth that you should always be super well-hydrated and peeing clear. For most people, I just say, ‘Drink when you’re thirsty.'”
Doctors generally recommend that your urine is either a “pale straw” or transparent yellow color, although it’s not a huge deal if it’s a bit darker or lighter . Other colors like pink, red, orange, or green could be a sign of a kidney or liver disorder, or could just be the result of food coloring in something you ate.
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