There are different ways to treat bladder cancer. The main ones are:
- surgery
- immunotherapy
- chemotherapy
- radiotherapy
If you have bladder cancer, you might need one of them or a combination of them.
Your doctors will yarn with you about what treatments they recommend and what your options are. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about which treatment/s might be best for you. You can also yarn with them about including any traditional healing, bush medicines and/or cultural practices you would like included in your treatment plan.
Surgery
Surgery is a procedure done in hospital to remove the cancer and help to stop it from spreading to other parts of your body. Surgery involves staying in hospital and having an anaesthetic and an operation.
Some people have only the lining of their bladder scraped off. Others have part of the bladder containing the cancer removed, and others have all their bladder removed.
Some people will have some of their lymph nodes taken out.
Some people may need to have procedure called a urostomy, which means that their urine will drain into a bag attached to the outside of the tummy. There are special nurses to help people if this is needed.
If you need to travel away from home for surgery, there is assistance available for travel and accommodation for you and your family. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about surgery and any concerns related to having surgery.
Read more about surgery.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is treatment with drugs that help your immune system attack the cancer cells. Immunotherapy for bladder cancer is given through a tube into the bladder. It is usually given once a week for six weeks to start with.
Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker, and with others who have had the treatment.
If you need to travel away from home for immunotherapy, there is assistance available for travel and accommodation for you and your family. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about immunotherapy and any concerns related to having this treatment.
Read more about immunotherapy.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy or ‘chemo’ involves you taking strong drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. This is different for each patient, depending on what you need.
Chemo may be given through a tube into the bladder or as injections into your arm or hand that drip in over an hour or two. Some chemo comes as tablets. If you’re having chemo, your doctor will tell you exactly how it will work for you.
Chemo that is given through a tube into the bladder can be given once a week for a few weeks. It can also be given as a one-off treatment after your surgery.
Chemo injections can also be given in cycles, for example every 2 or 3 weeks. Most people need to go to a hospital or clinic to get chemo, however a small number of people may have some of their treatment at home if available. But you usually don’t need to stay in hospital for chemo.
Chemo can make people feel sick for a while, but there are things they can take and do to help. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.
If you need to travel away from home for chemo, there is assistance available for travel and accommodation for you and your family. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about chemo and any concerns related to having this treatment.
Read more about chemotherapy and side effects.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells in one part of your body.
Most people who have radiotherapy have it every day (Monday to Friday) for 4-6 weeks, and each session can take 15 minutes. But it might be different for you.
You may be treated with chemo at the same time as radiotherapy, in which case, you may need to have injections with chemo 1 or 2 days per week.
You can only have radiotherapy in cities and some big towns – see this list. If your doctor thinks radiotherapy would help, and you don’t live near a radiotherapy site, assistance is available for travel and accommodation. Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.
Read more about radiotherapy.