Will bladder cancer treatment affect my mom’s life at 66?

Question

Hello doctor,

My 66-year-old mother was just diagnosed with bladder cancer after having blood in her urine for three weeks. The urologist did a cystoscopy and found multiple tumors in her bladder wall, and a biopsy showed high-grade urothelial carcinoma. She is scheduled for transurethral resection next week, but I am worried about what comes after that.

Her computed tomography (CT) scan also showed some suspicious lymph nodes. The doctor thinks it might have spread already. She has been having pelvic pain and frequent urination for months. But we thought it was just from her overactive bladder medication, Oxybutynin. She also takes hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms, and I am wondering if that could have caused the bladder cancer. Her sister had ovarian cancer at age 62, so there might be genetic factors involved. The oncologist mentioned the possibility of chemotherapy with Cisplatin and Gemcitabine if the cancer has spread. Please tell me,

What are her chances if they caught it before it spread to other organs?
How will bladder cancer treatment affect her quality of life?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

Imaging studies, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis or a Positron emission tomography (PET)-CT scan, should be planned, followed by a transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) for her. Once the histopathology report is available, the next line of treatment can be planned accordingly.

If her cancer is non-muscle-invasive, intravesical therapy such as BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) may be one treatment option.

If the cancer invades the muscle layer or lymph nodes, treatment may include:

Chemotherapy.
Surgery (radical cystectomy or radiation-based approaches. The choice of treatment depends on the cancer stage, kidney function, and overall health. Please share the reports once available so that I can guide you more accurately.

Regarding your other concern about hormone replacement therapy, there is no strong evidence that it causes bladder cancer.

What are the chances that it has not spread to other organs? If detected before distant spread, many patients can be treated effectively, and outcomes are significantly better.

I hope this information helps you.

Feel free to ask further queries.

Thank you.