Interstitial Cystitis Or Bladder Cancer

Bladder Cancer Survival Rates

Survival rates dont tell a person how long they will live, but they can predict how likely it is that treatment will succeed. People whose cancer hasnt grown past the bladder have a better at living for at least five years with treatment.

These are just guidelines and dont necessarily apply to each individual persons case. If you have questions about your specific prognosis and survival chances, talk to your doctor.

National Cancer Institute Five-Year Survival Rates

• Average overall 77 percent

Key Points About Interstitial Cystitis

• Interstitial cystitis is an inflamed or irritated bladder wall.

• The cause of IC is unknown and it does not get better with antibiotics.

• Symptoms of IC include changes in urination such as frequency and urgency pressure, pain, and tenderness around the bladder, pelvis, and the area between the anus and vagina or anus and scrotum and pain during sex.

• There is no best way to diagnose IC. A variety of tests may be needed. Urine tests will be done and imaging tests may be used to look at the different parts of the urinary tract and make sure everything is normal. Tissue samples may be removed from the bladder and examined under a microscope to see if cancer or other abnormal cells are present.

• Treatments are aimed at easing symptoms. A variety of procedures, medicines, and lifestyle changes may be advised.

Wake Forest Baptist Health Urology Named Interstim Center Of Excellence For Overactive Bladder Care

Wake Forest Baptist Health Urology has been named an InterStim Center of Excellence, making it one of a few in the country to earn this prestigious designation for treating overactive bladder and incontinence.

The InterStim Center of Excellence, awarded by Medtronic, recognizes physicians who demonstrate exemplary use of the InterStim System and a commitment to patient care for those suffering from symptoms associated with overactive bladder, accidental bowel leakage and urinary incontinence. As many as 30 percent of men and 40 percent of women in the United States live with overactive bladder symptoms, according to the Urology Care Foundation.

Robert J. Evans, MD, a board certified urologist and professor of urology and obstetrics and gynecology, is one of a few urologists in the state to offer and implant the MRI compatible InterStim neuromodulation lead. Evans has also been named the Interstitial Cystitis /Bladder Pain Syndrome Doctor of the Year for the last seven years, based on world-wide polls of interstitial cystitis patients.

InterStim Therapy, also known as sacral neuromodulation, uses an implantable device to send mild electrical impulses to stimulate the sacral nerves. Those nerves control the bladder and the muscles related to urinary and bowel function.

The Center of Excellence designation is awarded based on several criteria, including:

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Treatment For Interstitial Cystitis

There is no specific treatment provision. Symptomatic treatment options are the main options. However, you may try reducing the IC flare by changing your meals, by stress reduction and exercise of pelvic floor muscles. Another good option is undergoing bladder training. There are some pain medicines, antiallergic drugs, and anti-inflammatory medications showing good outcomes in relieving the pain and discomfort of interstitial cystitis. Occasionally surgery is performed if other treatments do not help.

Treatment of interstitial cystitis is effective in up to 90% of patients, but complete elimination of symptoms is rare. Doctors encourage patients to be aware of the factors that trigger the symptoms of interstitial cystitis.

Occasionally, the area near the spinal cord that controls the bladder is stimulated to try to reduce pain and urgency. Another possible option is to expand the bladder with a liquid or gas. This is a treatment called bladder dilatation, which may reduce symptoms.

Combination therapy is often given to promote relief. If the combination does not help, surgery may be tried.

The first step in treatment is a dietary change. Avoid spiced foods and foods high in potassium that can further irritate the bladder. You should also refrain from smoking and drinking.

Reducing stress and have pelvic floor muscle exercises that may help reduce symptoms.

Also Read:

Sacral Nerve Stimulation For Pain Relief In Interstitial Cystitis

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Cancer Can Be Misdiagnosed

Here, I am really reaching out to women who may have to deal with the misdiagnoses and suffer the long-term consequences. You have to ask questions and make sure the diagnosis is accurate for the specific illness. The following paragraphs are from an article that exposes how people are misdiagnosed and what you can do.

Dr. David Steinberg writes that cancers are often misdiagnosed as a bladder infection and treated as such. Patients with irritative voiding symptoms that do not resolve with treatment for UTI require further evaluation.3 The question is do they get the additional evaluation?

What Causes Interstitial Cystitis

While the cause of interstitial cystitis is unknown, there are several theories including:

• Defects in the epithelium of the bladder
• Bladder trauma
• Oxalate issues
• Gut microbiome imbalances

Personally, I believe interstitial cystitis is strongly rooted in nutrition related causes: poor digestion, nutritional deficiencies, poor liver function, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, hypothyroidism, and low protein diets as well as associated with a history of UTIs, antibiotics, birth control pill use, and chronic viral issues .

According to Dr. Ray Peat, IC has to do with hormonal imbalance, Interstitial cystitis involves an increased number and sensitivity of mast cells in the bladder, as a result of too much estrogen activity, or too little thyroid and progesterone.”

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Concerns About Neural Damage Due To Sacral Nerve Stimulation

There has long been the concern that activation of electrodes near peripheral nerves could cause neurologic damage. Recent advances in electrode design and surgical implant technique have enhanced the safety of long-term peripheral nerve stimulators. In animal experiments conducted in the 1970s, prolonged high-frequency stimulation was shown to be associated with early axonal degeneration. On biopsy this appeared as salt and pepper lesions, showing a mix of damaged and normal axonal fibers. The damaged fibers were generally large-caliber Aa- and Ab-type axons, innervating muscle spindles and carrying tactile and proprioceptive inputs .

How Is Interstitial Cystitis Treated

There is no cure for IC and it can be hard to treat. Treatments are aimed at easing symptoms, and may include:

• Bladder enlargement. This method increasing bladder capacity. It also interferes with pain signals being sent by the nerve cells in the bladder.

• Bladder wash. The bladder is filled with a solution that is held for varying times, from a few seconds to 15 minutes. Then it is drained out through a catheter.

• Medicine. Medicine may be taken by mouth or put right into the bladder. There are many different drugs that may be used.

• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation . Mild, electric pulses enter the body for minutes to hours, 2 or more times a day. The pulses are sent through wires placed on the lower back, or through special devices put into the vagina in women or into the rectum in men. For some people, TENS eases bladder pain and urinary frequency and urgency.

• Bladder training. You urinate at specific times and use relaxation techniques and distractions to help keep to the schedule. Over time, you try to lengthen the time between the scheduled voids.

• Surgery. Surgery to remove all or part of the bladder may be done in severe cases, if other treatments do not work.

Management of IC may also include:

Talk with a healthcare provider with any questions of concerns you may have about this health problem.

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Treatments For Interstitial Cystitis

Unfortunately, there’s currently no cure for interstitial cystitis and it can be difficult to treat, although a number of treatments can be tried.

But no single treatment works for everyone, and there’s disagreement about how effective some of them are.

You may need to try several treatments to find one that works for you.

Medicines and other therapies may be used if lifestyle changes not help, and surgery may be necessary as a last resort.

Who Gets Interstitial Cystitis

As many as 90% of people with IC are women. Somewhere between about 3% to 6% of adult women have some form of IC. Thatâs about 3 million to 8 million American women. About 1.3% of American men also have it.

On average, people first start having problems in their 40s. The risk of getting it goes up as you get older.

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Deterrence And Patient Education

Once the diagnosis is made, the patient should be counseled on what that means, why they experience the symptoms, and that the etiology is not well-understood at present.

The patient should be directed and encouraged to engage with self-help and the local support groups, such as those offered by the Interstitial Cystitis Association in the United States, as well as Bladder Health UK, or PainUK in the United Kingdom. Some patients that have used self-help found that it is the most effective out of the treatment options.

There are many treatments for the condition, with variable results. It can take up to months before the patient notices an improvement, and the effects may be only marginal. They need to be explained that the condition may not be cured, and symptoms may return at any time. However, with the right treatment, there can be significant improvements in their symptoms and quality of life for the right patient.

Common Treatments For Interstitial Cystitis

Treatment Oral drugs

Tricyclic antidepressants

Taken at low doses, tricyclic antidepressants relax the bladder and interfere with the release of neurochemicals that can cause bladder pain and inflammation. They may also improve sleep. Amitriptyline is the medication most commonly prescribed for interstitial cystitis.

Pentosan polysulfate sodium

Elmiron is the only oral drug approved by the FDA specifically for interstitial cystitis. It improves the bladder lining, making it less leaky and therefore less inflamed and painful. The full effect may take three to six months. Side effects, which are rare, include reversible hair loss, diarrhea, nausea, and rash.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines such as hydroxyzine interfere with the mast cells’ release of histamine, helping to relieve bladder inflammation and pain, urinary frequency, and nighttime voiding. Because antihistamines can cause drowsiness, they are usually best taken at bedtime.

Painkillers

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen can help relieve mild to moderate pain. Check with your clinician about possible side effects of long-term use of these over-the-counter medications.

Bladder instillations

Hyaluronic acid

Cystistat may help repair the bladder lining.

No single treatment alleviates all symptoms, and some may stop working over time, so finding what works is often a matter of trial and error. The good news is that in 50% of cases, the disease will disappear on its own.

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Causes And Risk Factors

Researchers dont know exactly what causes bladder cancer, but they do know what increases the risk of getting it. These risk factors range from family history to certain types of medication.

Source: Valisure

Data published in 2021 on MedRxiv by researchers from the online pharmacy Valisure and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center showed patients who took Zantac had elevated diagnosis rates of bladder, breast, prostate and thyroid cancer.

Patients should keep in mind that this data suggests a link between ranitidine and increased risk, but it doesnt prove that all people who take ranitidine will get bladder cancer.

What Is Interstitial Cystitis

Interstitial cystitis is chronic inflammation of the bladder. People who have interstitial cystitis have a bladder wall that is irritated and inflamed . This inflammation can scar the bladder or make it stiff. A stiff bladder cant expand as urine fills it. In some cases, the walls of the bladder may bleed slightly. Some people get sores in the bladder lining. More than 3 million American women and 1 million men have interstitial cystitis.

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What Helped Me The Most:

While the pain was bad, it gave me crazy motivation to get better. The small gains I saw over months and years, fueled my passion for nutrition and natural healing. All the pain I experienced in my twenties is one of the reasons this blog exists in the first place – I survived and lived to tell about it! Now I can eat anything I want without any interstitial cystitis restrictions . If I ever do get bladder irritation, which is usually only a few times per year which is usually from a mix of eating food with too many additives, I recover quickly from it .

When To See A Gp

You should see a GP if you have persistent pelvic pain or you notice a change in your usual peeing pattern.

These symptoms can have a number of causes, so its a good idea to get a proper diagnosis.

The GP can refer you to a hospital specialist like a urologist, a specialist in conditions affecting the urinary system, for further tests, such as a cystoscopy. A cystoscopy is a procedure to examine the inside of the bladder.

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Medtronic Bladder Control Therapy Delivered By The Nuro System

• Targets the tibial nerve to help you regain control of your bladder
• Does not cause unpleasant side eects like many oral medications can10
• Does not require self-catheterization, unlike injectable medications8
• Helps you live with less worry and more condence

The NURO system only treats the symptoms of OAB, not retention.

Most common side eects of PTNM are temporary and include mild pain or skin inammation at or near the stimulation site.

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What Is Interstitial Cystitis Or Painful Bladder Syndrome

Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome can be a very painful and chronic condition that can result in regular bouts of painful bladder irritation. The irritation causes urination urgency and frequency, often severely impacting concentration, sleep, and quality of life.

IC really impacts the quality of life for the person who has it, which is hard to understand unless of course you’ve experienced chronic pain yourself or watched someone you know go through it. Chronic pain means you never get a break a break from thinking about pain, a break from feeling pain, a break from trying to figure out how to manage the pain, and a break from wishing that this wasn’t happening to you.

The quality of life for someone with IC can be comparable to someone with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic cancer pain, or a patient on kidney dialysis.

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Can Bladder Endometriosis Be Treated By Minimally Invasive Techniques

Yes, but only by an experienced surgeon. To resect a portion of the bladder and repair the bladder by video-assisted laparoscopy or robotic-assisted laparoscopy requires a high level of skill with those instruments. As mentioned, Drs. Nezhat were the first to perform minimally invasive surgeries for the treatment of all forms of endometriosis, including bladder endometriosis. After nearly 3 decades, Drs. Nezhat have now performed among the most, if not the most, endometriosis surgeries in the world using minimally invasive and robotic techniques.

A cystoscopy, as shown above, is a procedure in which a camera is placed inside of your bladder to help your doctor visualize your bladder and provide an accurate diagnosis.

However, even a cystoscopy can sometimes miss endometriosis that affects only the outside of the bladder. Therefore, multiple diagnostic tools are sometimes required to achieve an accurate diagnosis.

With the bladder so close to the uterus, its sometimes difficult for patients to determine from which organ the pain is emanating.

Thats why a careful examination is required so that your doctor can properly treat each area.

A common symptom of bladder endometriosis is urinary frequency. However, urinary frequency can also be a symptom of many other disorders.

Thats why its important that you receive a very careful examination to rule out other disorders.

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Antibiotics Started A Vicious Cycle

Whilst on my honeymoon I got my first urinary tract infection. Honeymoon cystitis they called it. When we returned from our honeymoon I had another first, I found out I was pregnant. Nine months later my daughter was born by emergency cesarean. Intravenous antibiotics were given to me to prevent an infection which, unfortunately, led to me developing vaginal thrush. Over the following years, I had a couple more UTIs and continued to get thrush sporadically.

Two more daughters were born by cesarean over the following four years which meant two more lots of intravenous antibiotics. At the time of my third pregnancy, I was suffering from enormous stress due to poverty and a failing business. It was after my third childs birth, that my urinary tract infections really started to become an issue. I was visiting the doctor regularly with depression, thrush and UTIs. It seemed to be a vicious cycle. The more UTIs I got the more antibiotics I got the more thrush I got the more depressed I got. Worse was to follow.

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