Bladder cancer treatment at GenesisCare

There are several options of treatment available for bladder cancer at GenesisCare, such as:

• Surgery – removal of the cancerous part or all of the bladder, this can be done using either an endoscopic, open or robotic technique
• Chemotherapy – anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs that destroy the cancer cells
• Immunotherapy – drugs that help your body’s immune system recognise and fight the cancer
• Radiotherapy – high-energy radiation beams which are targeted at the cancer cells

Chemotherapy for bladder cancer

Chemotherapy uses cytotoxic (anti-cancer) drugs to destroy cancer cells. It’s a treatment used for both non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

For muscle-invasive bladder cancer, chemotherapy may be delivered on its own before surgery to reduce the size of your tumour prior to the operation, or after surgery to reduce the chance of cancer recurrence. As an alternative to surgery, chemotherapy can be given in combination with radiotherapy (chemoradiation), with the intent of curing muscle invasive bladder cancer without the need for an operation.

Immunotherapy for bladder cancer

Immunotherapies work by helping your body’s immune system to recognise and fight the cancer. If you have non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer at high risk of coming back or spreading to the muscle wall, you may receive Bacillius Calmette-Guerin (BCG) administered directly in to the bladder through a catheter tube . BCG works by stimulating the growth and activity of your immune system cells in the bladder lining.

Palliative care

If your cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it’s called advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. At GenesisCare, you can receive palliative drug treatment for advanced bladder cancer, to reduce the size and progress of your cancer and ease any symptoms. This treatment may include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or a combination of both.

Personalised medicine

For some advanced cancers, we use specialist tests, such as liquid biopsy or genomic testing, to understand the genetic make-up of cancer cells. This helps us to identify which drugs are available to work against the particular genetic mutations in a cancer, allowing us to start effective treatment without delay.

There may also be opportunities to access clinical trials for the newest treatments for ­­­­bladder cancer.

Drug treatment side effects

No treatment is without side effects. Your doctor will explain these to you depending on your drug treatment, together with how your treatment plan and supportive care can help manage or minimise these.

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a modern radiotherapy technique that directs beams of radiation at the target area whilst moving in an arc around the patient. Together with surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT) and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), it’s possible to precisely target areas of cancer, adjusting the beam and intensity of the radiation dose to allow for movements in the body and avoid healthy tissues. Side effects of radiotherapy occur when healthy tissues receive radiation, so using this technique helps to limit the dose to tissues and organs surrounding the tumour. At GenesisCare, we offer VMAT wherever possible because it is widely recognised to be the highest standard of care currently available for patients needing this type of radiotherapy treatment.

We also offer palliative VMAT radiotherapy for those living with advanced bladder cancer, where it has spread elsewhere in the body. This can be effective in the control of bladder cancer symptoms. We understand that fast access to palliative care is paramount and can usually provide treatment within 48 hours of a planning imaging scan.

Exercise medicine is a personalised programme of carefully planned and supported physical activity that has been shown to improve outcomes for cancer patients, enhancing quality of life and limiting the impact of cancer, such as by improving strength and reducing fatigue. One of our physiotherapists specialising in exercise for people living with cancer will provide a 12-week programme tailored to your needs and supported by our dedicated GenesisCare Exercise Medicine app. They’ll work closely with you to monitor changes in your health and support you throughout the programme to help you get the best results. This is available at selected GenesisCare centres.

We also offer a wellbeing expert and holistic therapies such as counselling, acupuncture, massage and reflexology through our unique partnership with the Penny Brohn UK charity. This service is available to all ­­­­­bladder cancer patients at any of our 14 UK centres.

Our dedicated cancer centres are convenient and easy-to-access. You can use your private medical insurance and we‘re recognised by all leading insurers. 

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, our priority is to continue providing the very best cancer care with meticulous measures in place to ensure our patients receive the treatments they need safely and without delay. You can find out more about our COVID-19 safety measures here. 

We are proud that so many patients rate our care as excellent as we help them through their cancer journey. Find out more about the unique experiences from people who have had their cancer diagnosis or treatment at GenesisCare in our patient stories section.