Urine Lab Tests To Rule Out Bladder Cancer
If the healthcare provider thinks that bladder cancer may be the cause of the symptoms, the patient may be asked to provide a urine sample for analysis in the laboratory. Several types of urine lab tests may be used to help make a diagnosis of bladder cancer, including:
- Urinalysis testing
- Urine tests for tumor markers
What To Expect From Your Doctor
Some patients seek very limited information about how long they may be able to live with stage 4 colon cancer. Other patients do not prefer to know such information. Even if you desire as many details as possible, do not forget that it cannot be accurately predicted as to how long a person can survive with stage 4 colon cancer.
You can expect from your doctor to make you aware of a duration of time as he/she predicts you to live. This is the optimum guess for your doctor. It is based on your specific condition and the medical experience of the doctor. Every patient and his/her case are different.
Apart from that, always keep in mind that situations change. Some colon cancer patients may end up living much longer than the doctors have expected. Other patients might survive for a shorter time than expected. Some doctors may totally avoid giving any predictions regarding how long a patient will survive to have stage 4 colon cancer simply since they may not know.
The most significant thing to know is that it is up to you to learn as little or as much regarding your prognosis. Only make sure that what you know or not is absolutely clear to and verified by your doctor.
What Are The Current Screening Guidelines For Bladder Cancer
There are currently no screening guidelines for bladder cancer, since no screenings have been shown to lower risk of dying from bladder cancer for people of average risk. However, your physician may recommend screening if you are at a high risk of developing bladder cancer, due to:
- Specific genetic mutations
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Intravenous Or Retrograde Pyelograms
For example, intravenous or retrograde pyelograms are types of x-rays that use a special dye to highlight the organs of the urinary tract. This can make it possible to detect cancer that has spread to the kidneys, ureters, or other parts of the urinary tract. If healthcare providers suspect that the bladder cancer may have spread to the patients lungs, then a chest x-ray may be used.
Bladder Cancer Clinical Trials
What about Clinical Trials?
You may hear about clinical trials for your bladder cancer. Clinical trials are research studies that test if a new treatment or procedure is safe and effective.
Through clinical trials, doctors find new ways to improve treatments and the quality of life for people with disease. Trials are available for all stages of cancer. The results of a clinical trial can make a major difference to patients and their families. Please visit our clinical trials research webpage to learn more.
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How Much Does A Bladder Ultrasound Cost
If you have medical insurance, your copayment for a bladder ultrasound can vary or may even be free. Without insurance, the average cost of an ultrasound in the United States is between about $250 and $400.
If you have Medicare, an ultrasound may be covered under your Part A coverage if you have the procedure during an inpatient hospital stay.
At an outpatient facility, an ultrasound is covered by Medicare Part B. Your share of the cost can be between about $17 and $30 depending on where the test is done.
Keeping Personal Health Records
You and your doctor should work together to develop a personalized follow-up care plan. Be sure to discuss any concerns you have about your future physical or emotional health. ASCO offers forms to help keep track of the cancer treatment you received and develop a survivorship care plan when treatment is completed.
This is also a good time to talk with your doctor about who will lead your follow-up care. Some survivors continue to see their oncologist or urologist, while others transition back to the care of their family/primary care doctor or another health care professional. This decision depends on several factors, including the type and stage of bladder cancer, side effects, health insurance rules, and your personal preferences, expectations, and beliefs.
If a doctor who was not directly involved in your cancer care will lead your follow-up care, be sure to share your cancer treatment summary and survivorship care plan forms with them and with all future health care providers. Details about your cancer treatment and communication preferences are very valuable to the health care professionals who will care for you throughout your lifetime.
The next section in this guide is Survivorship. It describes how to cope with challenges in everyday life after a cancer diagnosis. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.
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Urine Tumor Marker Tests
Different urine tests look for specific substances made by bladder cancer cells. One or more of these tests may be used along with urine cytology to help see if you have bladder cancer. These include the tests called NMP22® , BTA Stat®, Immunocyt® , and UroVysion®, which are discussed in Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early?
Some doctors find these urine tests useful in looking for bladder cancers, but they may not help in all cases. Most doctors feel that cystoscopy is still the best way to find bladder cancer.
Some of these tests are more helpful for finding bladder cancer that has come back in someone who has already had it, rather than first diagnosing it.
Tests For Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer is often found because of signs or symptoms a person is having. Or it might be found because of lab tests a person gets for another reason. If bladder cancer is suspected, exams and tests will be needed to confirm the diagnosis. If cancer is found, more tests will be done to help find out the extent of the cancer.
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Certain Factors Affect Prognosis And Treatment Options
The prognosis depends on the following:
- The stage of the cancer . Bladder cancer in the early stages can often be cured.
- The type of bladder cancer cells and how they look under a microscope.
- Whether there is carcinoma in situ in other parts of the bladder.
- The patients age and general health.
If the cancer is superficial, prognosis also depends on the following:
- How many tumors there are.
- The size of the tumors.
- Whether the tumor has recurred after treatment.
Treatment options depend on the stage of bladder cancer.
Where Can Bladder Cancer Spread
Bladder cancer can spread through the tissue to nearby organs, such as the prostate or vagina . It can also spread through the lymph system, by traveling through lymph vessels to lymph nodes in different parts of the body. It can also spread through the bodys blood vessels and form tumors in other parts of the body, such as the bones or lungs.
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Urine Culture Testing To Check For Utis
Urine culture testing can be used to check for urinary tract infections.1 The symptoms of bladder cancers and urinary tract infections can be quite similar, so it is important for healthcare providers check for both infection and cancer if either could be the cause. To carry out this test, the urine sample is left in a dish in the laboratory for several days, which allows any bacteria that may be contained in the urine to grow.
Treating Stage Iv Bladder Cancer
These cancers have reached the pelvic or abdominal wall , may have spread to nearby lymph nodes , and/or have spread to distant parts of the body . Stage IV cancers are very hard to get rid of completely.
Chemotherapy is usually the first treatment if the cancer has not spread to distant parts of the body . The tumor is then rechecked. If it appears to be gone, chemo with or without radiation or cystectomy are options. If there are still signs of cancer in the bladder, chemo with or without radiation, changing to another kind of chemo, trying an immunotherapy drug, or cystectomy may be recommended.
Chemo is typically the first treatment when bladder cancer has spread to distant parts of the body . After this treatment the cancer is rechecked. If it looks like it’s gone, a boost of radiation to the bladder may be given or cystectomy might be done. If there are still signs of cancer, options might include chemo, radiation, both at the same time, or immunotherapy.
In most cases surgery cant remove all of the cancer, so treatment is usually aimed at slowing the cancers growth and spread to help people live longer and feel better. If surgery is a treatment option, it’s important to understand the goal of the operation whether it’s to try to cure the cancer, to help a person live longer, or to help prevent or relieve symptoms from the cancer.
Because treatment is unlikely to cure these cancers, many experts recommend taking part in a clinical trial.
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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 one’s 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.
Blood And Urine Tests
Your doctor may take blood samples to check your overall health. You will also be asked for a urine sample, which will be checked for blood and bacteria this test is called a urinalysis. If you have blood in your urine, you may need to collect urine samples over three days. These samples will be checked for cancer cells this is called a urine cytology.
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What Are Signs And Symptoms Of Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer can manifest differently in each person. Common symptoms in both men and women include:
- Blood in your urine or hematuria
- Frequent or urgent urination
- Anemia
- Pain in the rectal, anal, or pelvic area
In women, early bladder cancer symptoms are often overlooked or misdiagnosed, perhaps because symptoms are confused for menstrual periods or urinary tract infections.
While many of these symptoms may not indicate bladder cancer, you should consult a doctor for assessment if you notice blood in your urine.
Diagnosis Of Bladder Cancer
Diagnosis is the process of finding out the cause of a health problem. Diagnosing bladder cancer usually begins with a visit to your family doctor. Your doctor will ask you about any symptoms you have and may do a physical exam. Based on this information, your doctor may refer you to a specialist or order tests to check for bladder cancer or other health problems.
The process of diagnosis may seem long and frustrating. Its normal to worry, but try to remember that other health conditions can cause similar symptoms as bladder cancer. Its important for the healthcare team to rule out other reasons for a health problem before making a diagnosis of bladder cancer.
The following tests are usually used to rule out or diagnose bladder cancer. Many of the same tests used to diagnose cancer are used to find out how far the cancer has spread . Your doctor may also order other tests to check your general health and to help plan your treatment.
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Stage 4 Cancer Symptoms
The symptoms of metastatic cancer depend on the type of cancer. In some cases, there are no symptoms at all.
Most of the time, a cancer that reaches stage 4 will affect not only the part of the body where it originated, but the areas it has spread to as well.
| Common Symptoms of Metastatic Cancer |
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Stage 4 cancer also can cause more general symptoms, such as extreme fatigue and lack of energy. Some people become so tired and weak they have trouble doing everyday things. They may even need help with getting dressed or other routine tasks.
Hearing your doctor call a liver tumor breast cancer may sound strange. But stage 4 cancer is diagnosed based on where the original cancer is located, not where it has spread. So, breast cancer that has spread to the liver will be called stage 4 breast cancer with liver metastasisnot stage 4 liver cancer.
Cystoscopy: The Gold Standard
Although radiological tests provide important information about the kidneys and the ureters, cystoscopy is the best method of evaluating the bladder and the urethra and diagnosing and monitoring bladder cancer. The cystoscope, a long thin camera, is inserted through the urethra into the bladder.
Today, using flexible cystoscopes, most of these diagnostic procedures are performed in a urologists clinic with little or no discomfort. During the cystoscopy, the urologist will look through the cystoscope and make a note of anything in the bladder that may be abnormal. If a tumor or other abnormality is identified, the urologist will likely schedule you for a cystoscopy under anesthesia with bladder biopsy or transurethral resection of bladder tumor .
Some urologists may have the ability to perform small bladder biopsies in the office. The tissue sample, or biopsy, is then sent to the pathologist for examination . A sample of the urine from the bladder is sent for analysis of the cells to determine if the urine contains any cancer cells. The biopsy specimen and the urine sample will help the urologist make recommendations about your future care.
Click here to read our Get the Facts | Cystoscopy , filled with advice from patients who have experienced it.
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Treatment Of Invasive Bladder Cancer In The Elderly And Frail Patient
I think this is a very contemporary topic because we are living in an aging society. If you look here, and you know if you really want to look at the life expectancy you should look at charts of the insurance company and governmental agencies rather than medical reports. And this is the life expectancy nowadays where in North America. So, you can see that if you are at the octogenarians, octogenarians for the sake of this talk is 80 years old, 80 to 90, and nonagenarians are 90 and plus. And you see so when you hit 80 you still have at least seven years as a male, and nine years or more as a female. So, we are actually talking about increased population that, and Ill show you data, has more bladder cancer, and theyre actually destined to live quite long if they are in the average risk. So, if you live for example to 90 years old youre expected to live about four years if youre a male and four and a half or five years if youre a female. So, we have to bear these figures in mind.
But once its diagnosed we have a very poor, we poorly address that. This is a paper by Gore et al, and it shows that only 21% of muscle invasive bladder cancer patients over the age of 65 here actually received radical cystectomy. He shows also that there was a better overall survival, but obviously this is biased by selection.
Partial cystectomy there is very few data, none in octogenarian. This is just a series from Wes Kassouf, so I will omit that because we really dont have enough data.
How Long Can You Live With Prostate Cancer With No Treatment
Studies have shown that between 86% and 98% of men with LPC do not die from their cancer in all age groups, the researchers wrote. In fact, more than 95% of patients with LPC live at least 10 years after their diagnosis, whereas only 25% of patients in this study expected to live more than 10 years.
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Next Steps After Urine Lab Tests
Depending on the results of the patients physical examination and urine laboratory tests, healthcare providers may need to carry out further testing to help make a diagnosis.1,2 The tests can also be used in patients who have already been diagnosed with bladder cancer to help gather more information about the cancer and develop the patients treatment plan.