Bladder Cancer

The bladder is a hollow, balloon-shaped organ in the lower part of the abdomen; its job is to expand and store urine until it is full, then shrink and squeeze urine out of the body. Urine itself is produced by the kidneys, two bean-shaped organs—one on each side of the backbone—above the waist. The kidneys and bladder work together to get toxins and wastes out of your body through urine.

Bladder cancer starts when the cells of the bladder start to grow out of control. As more cancer cells develop, they can form a tumor and, with time, spread to other parts of the body.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 82,290 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed in 2023. The chance that men will develop this cancer during their lifetime is about 1 in 28, while the risk for women is about 1 in 91. With appropriate treatment, in situ bladder cancer has a five-year survival rate of 96 percent.

Our physicians are well versed in the treatment of bladder cancer, and our support staff will make your treatment journey as easy as possible. We have offices in Louisville and just across the river in Jeffersonville for your convenience. Learn more about our physicians.

Types of bladder cancer

Urothelilal carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma, is by far the most common type of bladder cancer. It starts in the urothelial cells, which line the bladder, ureters, renal pelvis, and some other organs. These cells are the ones that stretch when the bladder is full of urine and shrink when it is emptied.

Other types of bladder cancer, all of which are very rare, include:

• Squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer that begins in squamous cells, the thin, flat cells lining the inside of the bladder.
• Adenocarcinoma begins in the glandular cells that line the bladder. These cells make mucus and other substances.
• Small cell carcinoma of the bladder begins in neuroendocrine cells, nerve-like cells that release hormones into the blood when the nervous system signals them to do so.

Risk factors for bladder cancer

Some behaviors and situations can increase your risk of developing bladder cancer.

The risk factors you can change include smoking, workplace exposure to toxic industrial chemicals, taking certain medicines or supplements, and not drinking enough fluids.

Not drinking enough fluids

Risk factors you can’t change include race or ethnicity (white people are approximately twice as likely to develop bladder cancer as other races), age (about 9 of 10 bladder cancer patients are over 55), sex (bladder cancer is much more common in men than in women), chronic bladder irritation and infection, and family history.

Family history

Radiotherapy for bladder cancer

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Radiation therapy for bladder cancer is sometimes done with external beam therapy, which uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body where the cancer is located.

Before your treatment begins, we will take careful measurements to find just the right angles for aiming radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. This process of planning radiation therapy for bladder cancer is called CT simulation, and it involves having 3-D images (CT scans) taken to help the doctor see exactly where the tumor is located and design a precise treatment plan.

Radiation therapy may be given in combination with other types of treatment such as chemotherapy. This is referred to as chemoradiation.

Information on this page is sourced from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.

Cancers We Treat

Our physicians treat a wide variety of cancers. You can view the full list here, or you can click below to learn about the cancers we most commonly treat.