Bladder Cancer in Turkey

Bladder Cancer in Turkey is an article that aims to give you all the information you do not know about bladder cancer in Turkey and more. We kindly shared the main headings with you;

The triangle-shaped bladder is an organ that sits beneath the kidneys, above the urethra, and in the middle of the hip bones. Your bladder, which is coated with a tissue called urothelium, receives urine from your kidneys. The cells that make up urothelium expand as your bladder fills with urine and contract when it is empty. (Around 2 cups of urine can fit in your bladder.) When specific cells in the tissue lining your bladder mutate or alter, they turn into abnormal cells that proliferate and form tumors in your bladder. This condition is known as bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer can be one of three forms. Each variety bears the name of the cell that lines the bladder wall, where the cancer first appeared. Types of bladder cancer include:

• Transitional cell carcinoma: This cancer develops in the inner lining of your bladder wall in transitional cells. Transitional bladder tumors make for about 90% of all cases. This type of cancer spreads aberrant cells from the bladder’s inner lining to deeper bladder layers or through the bladder wall into the fatty tissues that encircle the bladder. Urothelial bladder cancer is another name for this specific form of bladder cancer.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: They line the interior of your bladder. They are tiny and flat cells. Squamous cell cancer. This type of bladder cancer, which makes up around 5% of all cases, usually appears in persons who have experienced repeated episodes of bladder inflammation or irritation.
• Adenocarcinoma: Cancers in the glands that line your organs, including your bladder, are known as adenocarcinomas. Only 1% to 2% of bladder cancer cases are of this extremely uncommon kind.

 

The classification can be also made as follows,

• Noninvasive: This bladder cancer may simply be present on or close to the bladder’s surface or it may take the form of tumors in a tiny area of tissue. 
• Non-muscle invasive: This describes bladder cancer that has progressed beyond the bladder but not to the muscles.
• Muscle-invasive: This bladder cancer has spread into the muscle of the bladder wall and may have also affected tissues on organs outside of the bladder.

The precise cause of some bladder cells’ mutation and subsequent development into malignant cells is unknown to both medical practitioners and scholars. Many risk factors have been identified that could increase your risk of developing bladder cancer, such as:

• Smoking cigarettes: Smoking significantly increases your risk of bladder cancer. Smoking, using a pipe or cigar, and being around secondhand smoke can all increase your risk.
• Radiation exposure: If you receive radiation therapy for cancer treatment, your risk of developing bladder cancer may increase.
• Age raises the risk of bladder cancer. Although bladder cancer can develop at any age, most cases are found in patients over the age of 55.
• Exposure to certain chemicals. Filtering dangerous compounds from your bloodstream and directing them to your bladder are important functions of your kidneys. It is believed that this may enhance the risk of bladder cancer when exposed to specific substances. Arsenic and substances used to make dyes, rubber, leather, textiles, and paints are among the substances related to an increased risk of bladder cancer.
• Chemotherapy: Some chemotherapy drugs may increase your susceptibility. Exposure to particular chemicals: According to research, working with particular chemicals found in dyes, rubber, leather, paint, some fabrics, and hair styling products may come with an increased risk.
• Infections: Frequent bladder infections, bladder stones, or other urinary tract infections may increase a person’s risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma.

The most typical sign of bladder cancer is blood in the urine. However, having blood in your urination alone is not a guarantee that you have bladder cancer. This problem is also caused by other factors. But if you notice blood in your poop, you should see a doctor right away. Other signs of bladder cancer include:

• Hematuria: When doing a urinalysis, medical professionals can also detect minute amounts of blood in urine. 
• Dysuria: Dysuria, or pain during urination, is a burning or stinging feeling that some people experience before or after urinating. Men who use DMAB may have penile soreness either before or after urinating.
• Frequent urge to urinate: You need to urinate frequently during the day.
• Having a hard time urinating: Your flow may be weaker than usual or it may start and stop. 
• Persistent bladder infections: The signs of bladder cancer and bladder infections are similar. If your bladder infection persists despite receiving antibiotic treatment, talk to your doctor.

A number of tests are carried out by medical professionals to identify bladder cancer, including:

• Urinalysis: Healthcare professionals examine your poop using a range of tests. To rule out infection in this situation, they could perform a urinalysis.
• Cytology: Using a microscope, healthcare professionals study cells for indications of malignancy.
• Cytoscopy: The main test to find and diagnose bladder cancer is a cystoscopy. For this test, doctors look inside your bladder and urethra using a cystoscope, a pencil-sized illuminated tube. In order to see bladder cancer more easily, they might employ a fluorescent dye and a specific blue light. During cystoscopies, healthcare professionals may also collect tissue samples.

In the event that a urinalysis, cytology, and cystoscopy reveal you have bladder cancer, your healthcare professionals will perform additional tests to find out more about the malignancy, such as:

• Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT): Providers perform the transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) procedure to remove bladder tumors for further testing. Treatment options include TURBT operations, which remove bladder tumors before they may infiltrate the muscle wall of your bladder. A spinal or general anesthetic is used for this outpatient test.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test: A magnet, radio waves, and a computer are used in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to produce precise images of your bladder.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan: Doctors may use this procedure to check for bladder cancer that has spread to other parts of your body.
• Chest X-ray: A chest X-ray is a test that doctors can use to look for indications that bladder cancer has migrated to your lungs.
• Bone scan: Similar to a chest X-ray, a bone scan looks for indications that bladder cancer has migrated to your bones.

Cancer staging aids healthcare professionals in formulating treatment plans and prospective prognoses or predicted outcomes. Invasive bladder cancer, which has penetrated your bladder wall and may have spread to adjacent organs or lymph nodes, differs from early stage bladder cancer, which is restricted to the lining of your bladder. The phases go from TA (restricted to your bladder’s interior lining) to IV (the most invasive). The cancer is contained to the bladder lining or the connective tissue right below the lining in the first stages (TA, T1, or CIS), but it hasn’t yet spread to the bladder’s main muscular wall.Invest in your health, invest in a brighter future. Our comprehensive medical programs deliver real results, while you indulge in the beauty and serenity of our destination.

Cancer in stages II to IV is invasive: 

• Cancer has reached your bladder’s muscular wall at stage II.
• When cancer is in Stage III, it has already invaded the fatty tissue around your bladder muscle.
• Stage IV cancer refers to when the disease has metastasized (expanded) from the bladder to the lymph nodes, other organs, or bones.

There are four main ways to treat bladder cancer. The use of any combination of therapy is up to the individual providers.

Surgery

Bladder cancer is routinely treated surgically. Surgical procedures were chosen by medical professionals based on the stage of the cancer. For instance, bladder cancer that has not yet advanced can frequently be treated with the TURBT procedure, which is used to detect bladder cancer.

Either the tumor is surgically removed, or the tumor is burned away with high-energy electricity during a process called fulguration. Having a radical cystectomy is an additional option for treatment. During surgery, your bladder and related organs are taken out. It is carried out when a person has cancer that has spread outside of their bladder or early-stage malignancies all throughout their bladder.

 

Chemotherapy

These drugs effectively treat cancer. Intravesical therapy allows medical experts to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to your bladder by placing a catheter into your urethra. Intravenous treatment, which protects healthy tissue, targets cancer.

 

Radiotherapy

Radiation therapy could take the place of surgery. Medical experts may combine the use of radiation treatment, TURBT, and chemotherapy. This therapy can take the place of bladder removal surgery. Medical specialists consider tumor growth and features before advising this course of treatment.

 

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a medical procedure that targets cancer cells with the immune system. Immunotherapy comes in a variety of forms:

• Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG): Your immune system will benefit from the vaccination against Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).
• Treatment with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors: Certain cells have proteins called PD-1 and PD-L1. T-cells that help control your body’s immunological reactions have PD-1 on their surface. Some cancer cells have a protein called PD-L1 on their surface. T-cells are prevented from destroying cancer cells when these two proteins come together. The two proteins cannot interact during inhibitor therapy, allowing T cells to effectively attack cancer cells.

 

Targeted Therapy

The focus of targeted therapy is on the genetic changes that turn healthy cells into cancerous cells. For example, drugs referred to as FGFR gene inhibitors target cells with gene mutations that promote the proliferation of cancer cells.

Oncology is no exception to the active development of medicine in Turkey. Turkish medical professionals are actively learning new techniques for detecting and treating cancer while frequently exchanging knowledge with overseas counterparts. Turkish oncologists are able to produce excellent results thanks to ongoing skill improvement, access to cutting-edge technology, and sophisticated equipment. The reasons to prefer Turkey for bladder cancer treatment are listed as follows,

• Effectiveness of the treatment. Turkey provides patients with cutting-edge therapies. Patients are grateful for the favorable results of these cutting-edge therapies.
• The professionalism of the doctors. Turkish medical professionals with extensive training and experience in treating bladder cancer carry out a lot of procedures and treatments and are a part of renowned organizations.
• Service quality. Patients value the excellent quality of service, which includes complimentary services like transportation from the airport to the hospital and translation services.
• Cost. In Turkey, cancer treatment prices are more affordable than in other countries. The treatment price changes according to the stage of the cancer and the treatment types that are used. The most common type of bladder cancer treatment which is bladder removal operation costs around €13000.

To calculate the price of your specialized treatment use the cost calculator below.

If bladder cancer is not treated, it could spread to other bodily areas. Your prognosis for bladder cancer may be impacted by the extent of any metastasized or disseminated malignancy. The likelihood of surviving longer with bladder cancer is increased by early discovery and treatment, just like with many other cancer forms.

A little over half of all bladder cancer patients have early-stage, manageable cancer. But bladder cancer frequently recurs (comes back). After therapy, individuals with bladder cancer will require routine exams. One thing you can do to look out for your own health is to be careful about follow-up care. Here are some additional ideas.

• Eat heart-healthy foods: Make sure to include skinless poultry and fish, low-fat dairy, nuts, and legumes, as well as a range of fruits and vegetables, in your menu plans.
• Concentrate on fiber-rich foods: A diet high in fiber may help with digestive problems brought on by bladder cancer treatment.
• Do some workouts: Stress management may be aided by light exercise.

If you have concerns and questions about living with bladder cancer feel free to contact the Medical Center Turkey team through the free consultation service we provide just for you. Just click.