Bladder Cancer

　　What is bladder cancer?

　　Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies in urinary system, arising from mucous membrane of urinary bladder. Epithelial cells of mucous membrane of urinary bladder are also named uroepithelial cells, from which develops urothelioma, a most common malignancy takes up to 90-95% in all kinds of bladder cancer. Other rare bladder cancers include squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

　　What is the incidence of bladder cancer?

　　Bladder cancer accounts for 3% of all malignant tumors all around the world and over 350,000 people are diagnosed of it each year. It happens in all ages but tends to occur within the age range of 50-60. Moreover, the incidence goes up as age increases and would be 3-4 times for a male to develop bladder cancer rather than female.

　　Bladder cancer is caused by interaction of multiple factors. Smoking and occupational contact of aromatic amine are the main known contributors to urinary bladder cancer. There are other causes of it too.

　　1) Carcinogenic substance in drinking water. Taking the water with chloride left through chlorine sterilization would increase the risk of getting bladder cancer.

　　2) Diseases of urethra. Long-term and chronic irritation in urothelium or carcinogenic substance from body metabolism increases in urine would result in epitheliosis of urinary tract that cancerization occurs.

　　3) Drugs. Take massive doses of a painkiller named phenacetin would increase the risk of bladder cancer too.

　　What symptoms of bladder cancer present?

　　1) Blood in urine. Bloody urine mostly occurs as intermittent or throughout the whole process of disease. It can also appear at the onset or by the end of a case. Some patients would have blood clots or slough-like tissues in urine.

　　2) Irritation of bladder. A patient would present the symptoms of frequency and urgency of micturition if a malignancy occurs in trigonum vesicae, or the lesion spreads or infection happens.

　　3) Urinary obstruction. The bigger tumors located in vesicae cervix and blood clots can arouse dribble urination or even urine retention. Tumor infiltration in ureterostoma causing blockage in upper urinary tract would develop lumbar pain, hydronephrosis and damage of kidney functions.

　　4) Metastases. Pains in bladder, urethrovaginal fistula, edema in lower extremities, etc appear when advanced-stage tumor encroaches on tissues or organs around bladder and pelvic lymph nodes.

　　Detection of bladder cancer

　　1. Cystoscope, through which can directly find the location, size, quantity, shape and infiltration extent of cancer. Biopsy should also perform when having this examination.

　　2. CT scan. It can find the tumor and swelling lymph nodes in an accuracy of 80%.

　　3. Ultrasound B. It can detect the size, location and infiltration degree in mucosa when a patient is having full bladder, a status that the mucosa of bladder wall is fully extending.

　　4. Ray contrast examination. Through it can a doctor know the bladder is full or empty and the infiltration condition. Combining with pyelography and ureterography, hydronephrosis, infiltration condition of ureter can be confirmed.

　　Staging of urinary bladder cancer

　　Stage 0: Cancer cells are found only on the inner lining of the bladder.

　　Stage I: Cancer cells have proliferated to the layer beyond the inner lining of the urinary bladder but not to the muscles of the urinary bladder.

　　Stage II: Cancer cells have proliferated to the muscles in the bladder wall but not to the fatty tissue that surrounds the urinary bladder.

　　Stage III: Cancer cells have proliferated to the fatty tissue surrounding the urinary bladder and to the prostate gland, vagina, or uterus, but not to the lymph nodes or other organs.

　　Stage IV: Cancer cells have proliferated to the lymph nodes, pelvic or abdominal wall, and/or other organs.

　　Recurrent: Cancer has recurred in the urinary bladder or in another nearby organ after having been treated.

　　How to treat bladder cancer?

　　1. Surgery. The most proper surgery method should be chosen according to pathological diagnosis and general physical condition of a patient, and these methods including:

　　1) Transurethral incision of bladder tumor

　　2) Radical cystectomy

　　2. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Both of them can be taken as assistant therapies. Elective radiotherapy and chemotherapy before or after surgery can help to improve the cure effect and the living quality of a patient.

　　3. TCM(Traditional Chinese medicine). It can apply throughout the whole treatment for bladder cancer patient. No matter used singly or combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, it can take the effect of suppressing tumor and improving patient living quality and so on.

　　Nursing methods of bladder cancer

　　Diet care

　　1) A bladder cancer patient should take more fresh fruits and vegetables.

　　2) Have diets with high protein, such as eggs, milk, fish and so on.

　　3) Adjust the diets according to patient flavor, but spicy food or the diets are hard for digestion are forbidden.

　　Post-operative care

　　1) Keep the ward clean and the air fresh.

　　2) Prevent from getting infection and improve the immunity of patient.

　　3) Family should always support the patient to help him eliminate the negative emotions.

　　Best treatment for bladder cancer

　　A multidisciplinary team composed of surgeons, pathologists, radiation cancer experts, minimally invasive oncologists, nurses for cancer nursing and interpreters carries out expert consultation according to symptoms and conditions of patients with bladder cancer and then gives treatment plans that are most applicable to the patient, in order to greatly improve the therapeutic effect of bladder cancer patient.

　　What kinds of supports can be obtained?

　　Practice proves that the clinic team services composed by multiple disciplines like oncosurgery, oncology, pathology, imageology and anesthesia doctors as well as professional nurses, can provide patients with most effective, most suitable and most economic treatment plan, and also can greatly improve the therapeutic effect of treating cancer patients.

　　“One station” medical system constructed by Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou combining multiple disciplines, can perform comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for patients under the condition of without adding patients’ burden. Therefore, on one hand, it can provide all-round and heartfelt medical services, and on the other hand, it improves medical efficiency and level. There are many channels can be applied to conduct the communication between patients and doctors, like online consultation, email, telephone conversation, and face-to-face consultation. All these consultation services can effectively help patients to fight the cancer. While the medical team faced by the patients includes doctors, nurses, dietitians, interpreters and so on to meet various demands in different level of different countries. Patients would be more confident under the unobstructed communication environment to cooperate the hospital to diagnose and treat the diseases.