Items Tagged With Bladder Cancer

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) for bladder cancer

BCG  BCG Side Effects  Bacillus CalmetteGuerin  Bladder Cancer  Side Effects 

If you are receiving radiation therapy or chemotherapy to treat any stage of bladder cancer, you can use home treatment to help manage the side effects that may be caused by these treatments. Home treatment may be all that is needed to manage the common problems listed below. If your health professional has given you instructions or medications to treat these symptoms, be sure to follow them. In general, healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep and exercise can help control your symptoms.

• Home treatment for nausea or vomiting includes watching for and treating early signs of dehydration, such as a dry mouth, sticky saliva, and reduced urine output with dark yellow urine. Older adults can quickly become dehydrated from vomiting. For more information on how to deal with these side effects, see:

  Controlling nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

• Home treatment for diarrhea includes resting your stomach and being alert for signs of dehydration. Check with your health professional before using any nonprescription medications for your diarrhea. Be sure to drink enough fluids.
• Home treatment for constipation includes ensuring that you drink enough fluids and eat fruits, vegetables, and fiber in your diet each day. Do not use a laxative without consulting your health professional.

Other issues that may arise include:

• Sleep problems. If you have trouble sleeping, some tips for managing sleep problems may be helpful, such as having a regular bedtime, getting some exercise during the day, and avoiding naps.
• Fatigue. If you lack energy and become weak easily, try measures to help your fatigue, which include getting extra rest, eating a balanced diet, and reducing your stress.
• Hair loss. Hair loss may be unavoidable, but you can decrease irritation of your scalp by using mild shampoos and avoiding damaging hair products.
• Body image and sexuality problems. Sexual problems can be caused by physical or psychological factors related to the cancer or its treatment. You may experience less sexual pleasure or lose your desire to be sexually intimate.
  • Women who have their bladder removed (radical cystectomy) will also have their ovaries and uterus removed. They cannot become pregnant and may experience menopause soon after having the cystectomy.
  • Men who have their prostate glands and seminal vesicles removed may have erection problems and will no longer produce semen.

Many people with bladder cancer face emotional issues as a result of their disease or its treatment.

• It is stressful to find out that you have cancer and to undergo treatment. Managing stress may include expressing your feelings to others. Learning relaxation techniques may also be helpful. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation, and support groups may be helpful.
• Your feelings about your body may change following treatment for cancer. Managing body image issues may involve talking openly about your concerns with your partner, and discussing your feelings with your health professional. Your health professional may also be able to refer you to organizations that can offer additional support and information.

Medications may be used to control the growth of bladder cancer cells and to relieve symptoms. Chemotherapy uses medications to destroy cancer cells. Biological therapy boosts or restores your body's immune response to destroy cancer cells.

Medication Choices

Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth (orally), injected into a vein (intravenous, or IV), or put into the bladder through a urinary catheter (intravesically). Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells both inside and outside the bladder area.

Medications through a vein (IV)

• M-VAC is a combination of methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin. Methotrexate slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in the body and is frequently used in combination with other chemotherapy medications. Cisplatin is a heavy metal that causes cell death by interfering with the multiplication of cancer cells.
• Gemcitabine is an antitumor medication that interferes with how cells divide and stops the growth of the cancer cells. It is often combined with another drug called cisplatin for treating bladder cancer.
• Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic medication. Epirubicin and valrubicin are also anthracycline antibiotics that may be used.
• Paclitaxel or carboplatin are antitumor medications that slow or stop the growth of cancer cells in the body.

Medications through a catheter into the bladder

• Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) may stimulate an immune response or inflammation in the bladder wall to destroy cancer cells within the bladder. This is known as biological therapy.
• Mitomycin C is an antitumor antibiotic that interferes with the multiplication of cancer cells. When administered directly into the bladder, mitomycin may help prevent the recurrence of bladder cancer.

What To Think About

Medications, alone or in combination, may be delivered directly into the bladder using a catheter (intravesically).

Adjuvant chemotherapy may be used with transurethral resection (TUR) of the bladder. Chemotherapy is also used when cancer cannot be controlled with surgery.

Most chemotherapy causes some side effects. Home treatment may be all that is needed to manage your symptoms. If your health professional has given you instructions or medications to treat your symptoms, be sure to follow them. In general, healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep and exercise can help control your symptoms.

Clinical trials of other medications, such as interferon or chemotherapy before surgery (neoadjuvant), are ongoing. Ask your doctor about participating in a clinical trial.

Bladder Cancer  Bladder Cancer Medications 

Radiation treatment for bladder cancer uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. External beam radiation comes from a machine outside the body. The machine aims radiation at the area where the cancer cells are found.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is being studied as a treatment for bladder cancer. PDT uses laser light and a special light-activated substance (Photofrin) to kill cancer cells. Results of early studies with photosensitizers show that PDT may be effective in treating recurrent superficial bladder cancer.^{8, 14} Until all the drug is out of the body, the skin can get a sort of sunburn after even short exposures to light. This can last several weeks.¹⁵

Other Treatment Choices

Radiation treatment uses high-dose X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. It may be used before or after surgery. Radiation therapy also may be used if a person with bladder cancer cannot have surgery. Radiation therapy also may be used as palliative care to shrink tumors or relieve pain.

What To Think About

Some people with bladder cancer may be interested in participating in research studies called clinical trials. Clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. People who do not want standard treatments or who are not cured using standard treatments may want to participate in clinical trials. These are ongoing in most parts of the United States and in some other countries for people with all stages of bladder cancer.

The combination of conventional medical treatment and complementary medicine is an approach that is sometimes termed integrative medicine, in which conventional and complementary therapies work together for the best outcome.

Bladder Cancer  Other Treatment 

Radiation treatment for bladder cancer uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. External beam radiation comes from a machine outside the body. The machine aims radiation at the area where the cancer cells are found.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is being studied as a treatment for bladder cancer. PDT uses laser light and a special light-activated substance (Photofrin) to kill cancer cells. Results of early studies with photosensitizers show that PDT may be effective in treating recurrent superficial bladder cancer.^{8, 14} Until all the drug is out of the body, the skin can get a sort of sunburn after even short exposures to light. This can last several weeks.¹⁵

Other Treatment Choices

Radiation treatment uses high-dose X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. It may be used before or after surgery. Radiation therapy also may be used if a person with bladder cancer cannot have surgery. Radiation therapy also may be used as palliative care to shrink tumors or relieve pain.

What To Think About

Some people with bladder cancer may be interested in participating in research studies called clinical trials. Clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. People who do not want standard treatments or who are not cured using standard treatments may want to participate in clinical trials. These are ongoing in most parts of the United States and in some other countries for people with all stages of bladder cancer.

The combination of conventional medical treatment and complementary medicine is an approach that is sometimes termed integrative medicine, in which conventional and complementary therapies work together for the best outcome.

Bladder Cancer  Bladder Cancer Treatment