Bladder Cancer Treatment in AU and NZ
Bladder cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the bladder grow faster than usual, causing a tumour.
There are 2 main types:
- Superficial bladder cancer: This is when cancer grows in the surface layers on the inside of the bladder.
- Muscle-invasive bladder cancer: This is when cancer grows through the muscle layers of the bladder. From here it can spread to other places. These secondary tumours are called metastases.
Radiation Therapy and Bladder Cancer
The best person to talk to about radiation therapy for bladder cancer is a radiation oncologist. A radiation oncologist is a specialist doctor who is part of the team that takes care of people having radiation therapy.
You can ask your doctor for a referral to a radiation oncologist to learn if radiation therapy is an option for you.
The Treatment Team
Doctors make a treatment plan for each person based on:
- where the cancer is
- what other treatments have been tried
- a person’s health and bladder function.
The type of treatment a person gets is worked out by a team of doctors and health professionals often called a Multidisciplinary Team.
A highly trained radiation oncology team takes care of people having radiation therapy. This includes radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, medical physicists and radiation oncology nurses.
Role of Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer
Superficial and muscle-invasive bladder cancers need different treatments and have different outcomes. Some superficial bladder cancers turn into muscle-invasive cancers if they are not treated.
Superficial Bladder Cancer: For superficial bladder cancer, doctors often operate to remove the tumour and then use chemotherapy given directly into the bladder. Sometimes this is all that is needed to treat the cancer.
Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Radiation therapy can be used to cure muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This is called organ-preserving treatment as the bladder is not removed and keeps working after treatment.
Another option for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is surgery to remove a person’s bladder. In this case, urine is diverted from the kidneys into a bag on the stomach.
The treating team may also use chemotherapy during radiation therapy, or before or after surgery.
Some people with more advanced cancer, and cancer that has spread, have palliative radiation therapy. Palliative radiation therapy can help with symptoms like blood in the pee and pain.
Types of Radiation Therapy used In Bladder Cancer
External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) is the most common type of radiation therapy used for bladder cancer.
The treatment team use a machine called a linear accelerator to do external beam radiation therapy from outside the body.
Radiation oncologists often use Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT) or Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), which are advanced types of external beam radiation therapy to carefully deliver radiation to the areas that need to be treated.
These advanced techniques allow the doctor to target the radiation on the cancer while limiting radiation to healthy parts of the body.
The radiation oncology team chooses the right treatment dose for each person. This can range from one treatment to daily treatments on Monday-Friday for 7 weeks.
General Information About Side Effects of Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is more effective with fewer side effects than ever before.
Recent advances mean radiation oncologists can effectively treat the cancer while getting less radiation on healthy body parts. This means much fewer side effects.
Side effects from radiation therapy vary between people, even for those having the same treatment.
While some people feel no side effects, some feel mild side effects, such as tiredness or skin redness during and/or just after treatment. These usually get better within a few weeks.
The treatment team will offer advice and medicine to help with side effects.
Serious side effects that start later (months to years after the radiation therapy) are rare.
Before starting treatment, your radiation oncologist will talk to you about side effects and answer your questions.
The side effects of radiation treatment can be split into 2 groups:
- Early side effects which occur during and shortly after radiation treatment.
- Late side effects which can occur months to years after radiation treatment.
For more information, go to the Potential Side Effects page.
Early Side Effects of Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer
Common early side effects of radiation therapy include:
Fatigue: Tiredness is very common in the second half of treatment and varies between people. Fatigue may last for a few weeks after treatment.
Urination: Most people feel the need to pee more often and more urgently. Many people also need to pee more at night. Some people feel stinging or burning when they pee, especially in the second half of treatment.
Bowel changes: Some people have more gas and diarrhoea and notice changes in their bowel habits. This is because some parts of the bowel are close to the treatment area.
Late Side Effects of Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer
Late side effects vary between people and can happen a few months to a few years after treatment.
These side effects may never occur, occur once, continue over time, or come and go.
Bowel problems: Radiation therapy can cause long-term bowel issues such as diarrhoea, constipation, or changes in bowel habits.
Sexual dysfunction: Both radiation therapy and surgery can affect sexual function. This can cause issues such as erectile dysfunction in men or vaginal dryness and pain in women.
Urinary problems: Radiation therapy may cause long-term urinary problems such as the need to pee more often or with more urgency. Radiation therapy rarely causes incontinence.
Lymphoedema: Surgery or radiation therapy can damage lymph nodes, leading to lymphoedema, which is swelling in the legs due to a build-up of lymph fluid.
Radiation induced small bowel obstruction: This happens if radiation treatment causes a blockage of the small bowel.
Impaired fertility or infertility: It is important to talk about fertility preservation before treatment starts.
Premature ovarian failure: If a woman’s ovaries are present, radiation may cause early menopause.
Femoral neck or pelvic fracture: This is very rare and is when a bone in the pelvis breaks due to reduced strength.
Second cancers: Cancers caused by radiation therapy are a very rare side effect that can occur more than 10 years after treatment.
Other Useful Resources for Bladder Cancer
Find additional information about cancer types, research groups, and support groups.
Radiation Oncologist
The best person to talk to is a radiation oncologist. You can ask your doctor for a referral to find out if radiation treatment is right for you.
GPs and Health Professionals
Information for any health professional involved in a patient's cancer care with a particular focus on primary care providers.
Talking to Your Doctor
Your GP or other doctors in the cancer team can organise a referral to a radiation oncologist.
Treatment Centres
Search and find your closest Radiation Oncology Treatment Centre.
