May/June 2001
Page 10

Chemicals Increase Risk:

• Smoking - chemicals in tobacco smoke collect in urine and become concentrated and damage bladder lining.
• Industrial Chemicals - chemicals used to make dyes, rubber, leather textiles and paint are associated with increased bladder cancer risk.
• Chronic bladder inflammations - alone aren't believed to cause cancer. Such inflammations are common in men and those over sixty and not well understood, but there is some evidence that they might be linked to chemical exposure.

Treatment:
It the cancer Is limited to the bladder's inner lining, It is easily treated and 90% curable though having a fairly high recurrence rate.

Surgery:
Is performed through a cystoscope (a tube like device placed inside your bladder through your urethra), the cancer being cut away or destroyed with laser. If the cancer has spread, treatments Include traditional surgery during which all or part of the bladder may be removed. (Urostomy is a possibility.)

Immunotherapy:
placing bacterial antigens into the bladder through a cystoscope causes your body's Immune system to respond to the antigens, It attacks and kills cancer cells at the same time.

Chemotherapy:
a combination of medications Is used to kill the cancer. Chemotherapy may be used as a precautionary measure after surgery to ensure all of the cancer has been destroyed. it's also used to control more advanced cancer that's spread beyond the bladder.

Radiation Therapy:
uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation is also sometimes used to shrink a tumour prior to surgery, or together with chemotherapy in place of surgery.

Reduce your risk of bladder cancer. If you use tobacco, stop. It you work with certain chemicals, follow all safety regulations, In addition, if you notice blood in your urine or it shows up on a urine test, be persistent in finding the cause.

Via Mayo Clinic Health Letter, with permission, via Ottawa Ostomy News, Feb. 1999, via Inside Out On-line May/Jun 2001