Blood in the urine should always include a ruling out of urothelial cancer especially when there is history of smoking, tobacco use or a strong family history of cancer.
After being examined by the urologist, and doing basic blood and urine tests, additional tests like Urine Cytology, Cystoscopy and CT scan (The 3Cs) of the Kidney Ureters and Bladder are needed.
Dr Ashish Yevale is an experienced urologist for bladder cancer screening in Pune.
After a tumor or suspicious growth has been identified in the bladder it needs to be biopsied and sent for histopathological examination (HPE). The biopsy gives information about the type and aggressiveness of the cancer. Further treatment is decided based on these parameters.
The biopsy process is done by means of a cystoscope that is inserted into the bladder through the urethra without any cuts or incisions and the tumor in the bladder is removed and sent for histopathological examination (HPE). This process is done under spinal or general anesthesia in a procedure called TURBT or Trans Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumor
Dr Ashish Yevale is an experienced urological surgeon performing TURBT in Pune.
Once bladder cancer has been confirmed, it is essential to know if it has invaded the muscle portion of the urinary bladder or is only present in the superficial layers. If it is superficially located then the patient needs to follow up regularly for cystoscopy to keep a check on any recurrence along with instillation of certain tumor destroying drugs into the bladder.
Most patients tend to have the superficial variant but strict follow up is needed as sometimes this can turn into the muscle invading or deep variant of bladder cancer. If at the time of diagnosis the tumor has already invaded the bladder muscle, then major open surgery is needed which involves removal of the entire urinary bladder, called radical cystectomy.
Dr Ashish Yevale is an experienced urological surgeon for bladder cancer treatment in Pune.