Early Bladder Cancer Diagnosis can improve the outcome of several treatment options.
Bladder Cancer Symptoms usually pave the way for a person to undergo Bladder Cancer Diagnosis. There are several tests that it encompass to be able to confirm its incidence like x-ray, computed tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging, cystoscopy and the most definite one, biopsy.
What are the Assessment Parameters for Bladder Cancer Diagnosis?
Radiology is one of the assessment parameters for Bladder Cancer. It is the study about the science of radiation and radioactive materials. It’s also a branch of study in medicine using radiations. In the context of health care, it serves as a diagnostic tool that can produce actual images of different body parts or organs beneath our skin and other protective structures in the body.
Hard X-rays are type of electromagnetic radiation that can penetrate to objects even in their solid form. Specifically, an intravenous pyelogram is performed; it uses a contrast dye to visualize the pelvis of the kidneys, bladders and ureters. The existence of an abnormality is determined by this procedure by providing the images of the upper urinary tract.
Another form of radiology is Computed Tomography Scan (CT-Scan). It is a detailed form of X-ray that can give you a holistic cross-section image of the body that gives the experts the chance to compare the results with the normal condition of a human body. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a more insightful form of CT-Scan which can even detect lymph nodes that can show the spread of malignant cells or metastasis to adjacent organs.
Cystoscopy is another diagnostic procedure used for diagnosing bladder cancer. It is utilized to assess the bladder directly by visualizing it through a form of cystoscope. The inside layer of the urinary tract is evaluated and tumors, stones and other abnormalities that lie inside the bladder or urinary tract can be seen. It also enables the doctor to perform a biopsy of the tumor or tissue. Biopsy is the confirmatory test to assess if the abnormal growth is benign or malignant. The pathologist will also be able to identify what type of cancer cell the tumor is made of.
What are Other Management Options for Bladder Cancer Symptoms?
Aside from chemotherapy, there are other options in the treatment of bladder cancer. Most of them can be done in conjunction with each other, and together they make up the treatment regimen.
Radiation Therapy is a part of the treatment regimen. Its purpose is to encapsulate the malignant cells and prevent its metastasis to other organs. Radiation, uses an external beam, that can be directed to any part of the body. However, side effects may follow such as skin irritation, inflammation of the rectum, dry skin, impotence, incontinence and fibrosis. It is important to avoid erasing the radiation marks that the radiologist put into your skin. It is not suggested to use lotions and strong soaps to the area because it may add additional irritation to the skin.
Transurethral Resection or fulguration is one of the surgeries of choice after performing Diagnosis. It is performed only for benign epithelial tumors. An electrical current or surgical incision is done to remove the tumor in the bladder. For multifocal bladder cancer, a radical cystectomy is the surgery of choice. In males, it includes the removal of prostate, bladder, seminal vesicles and adjacent perivesical tissue. For females, it may involve the exclusion of the uterus, lower ureters, ovaries, bladder, fallopian tubes, urethra and anterior vagina.
After performing radical cystectomy, it is necessary to have a urinary diversion. One of the urinary diversions is ileal conduit. It is another channel of the urinary tract that is surgically produced on a part of the patient’s small intestine. The patient’s ureter is connected to the bowel segment and the other is conveyed out of the body through a stoma. An appliance is an indispensable tool once a stoma is already created.
The use of Immunotherapy can be enforced during the postoperative period to enhance the treatment for bladder cancer. Bacille Calmette-Guerin or BCG is given to the patient to improve his immune system. It is infused into the urethra to the bladder, once every 6 weeks to kindle the immune system of the patient that can result to the destruction of cancer cells.
Cystitis or swelling of the bladder is a classical side-effect of BCG administration. A high grade fever may suggest the presence of bacteria in the blood stream (bacteremia) that can cause excessive excretion of blood in the urine. It is known as an emergency situation and the need for an immediate antibiotic treatment is anticipated.
What are the Complications of Surgery?
Complications may follow during the post operative period of the ileal conduit. The common complications are gash dehiscence, wound infection, uretheral impediment, urinary seepage, hyperchloremic acidosis and gangrene of the stoma. Transurethral Resection can cause possible damage to the bladder wall, bladder and urethra, difficulty in urination, frequent urinary tract infections and bleeding.
Bladder Cancer Diagnosis covers expensive procedures but if it is the only way to save people’s lives then it will be worth spending for. Treating bladder cancer on its early stage can give the patient a good prognosis to the different therapy and management options available. Although, these therapies won’t give you a 100% survival rate, they still deserve a try. Plus they can lengthen your life and minimize the disease’s signs and symptoms.