How You Can Survive Stage 4 Bladder Cancer



Stage 4 bladder cancer means that the cancer has become metastatic and has spread to other organs in your body. Obviously, this is probably the worst news you can receive if you are suffering from the disease, but find comfort in the fact that there are treatments available and that other people have been able overcome the disease. Below you will find a quick rundown of the treatment options available to such sufferers.

Chemotherapy

This involves the administration of drugs to eliminate as many cancer cells in your body. The good news is that bladder cancer tends to be very sensitive to chemotherapy and responds quickly and frequently. However, this also means that side effects of chemotherapy will also be felt often and rapidly. As a result, there are still clinical trials being conducted to find ways to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy while reducing the side effects.

Surgery

Given the advanced stage of the disease, this would involve the removal of the entire bladder (known as a cystectomy in medical terms) and tissue surrounding it. For men, this also involves the removal of the prostate. In the case of women, this involves the removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Surgery is also used when chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy are not found to be effective on a patient.

As you can see, there are various treatments available to treat this type and stage of cancer. The most important thing is to keep reading about such treatments and getting continuously informed so that you can increase your chances of surviving stage 4 bladder cancer.

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December 30th, 2009 in Cancer | tags: , , , , , , ,

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