It’s nearing the end of a long day of live surgery here at the eUROAuditorium, but they’ve saved some of the best till last, as Alberto Breda demonstrates a Bladder tumour resection. Let’s take a look how it’s going.

Most bladder cancers (approximately 90-95%) occur in the bladder itself. However, the urothelial cells that line the bladder are also found in other locations in the urinary system. Urothelial carcinoma is a cancer that can occur in those cells.

The kidneys and ureters make up the upper part of the urinary tract. Those parts of the urinary tract also have urothelial cells. Approximately 5-7 % of urothelial cancer can occur in the upper lining of the kidney, called the calyx and renal pelvis. It could also occur in one or both of the ureter(s), a tubes that leads from each of your kidneys to the bladder. Cancer in the renal pelvis or ureter(s) is called Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma, or UTUC.

Bladder cancer therapies, once very limited, now offer more options to treat patients than ever before. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Bladder Cancer Director, Guru Sonpavde, MD, details new treatments and research initiatives on the horizon for bladder cancer.

For George Furlan, blood in the urine turned into a worse case scenario.

"Within 10 days he found some cancer and a tumor in my bladder," says George Furlan,.

There was a silver lining to his bladder cancer. It was caught at an early stage when it's most treatable, says Furlan's doctor Alejandro Miranda-Sousa, urologist on Lee Memorial Health System's medical staff.

"Correct. Usually the low- grade cancer, the scrapping or removal of the tumor is done with no cuts all. Sometimes medication is given within the bladder; a form of chemotherapy or immunotherapy could be given to treat and prevent recurrences," says Dr. Miranda-Sousa.

Low- grade tumors, like Furlan's, can present like cauliflower with roots that grow into the bladder lining. In this instance, treatment included both the removal and chemotherapy.

"He said to me you're doing fine but I have to cut one of the tumor and I left some of the roots which did not penetrate the wall yet. I want to take care of that by giving you my treatment for 6 weeks," says Furlan.

Bladder cancer tends to recur; close to 50% of patients will battle it again.

"The follow up is to check the bladder every 3 months for the first 2 years after the tumor has been discovered. Many tumors come back as low a grade. Those are much more simple to treat and have a high rate of curing," says Dr. Alejandro Mirando-Sousa.

When the cancer is caught early, the outlook is good. If it's diagnosed in situ, meaning the layer of cells it where it began, patients have a 97% 5-year survival rate. If it's stage 1- the rate is 70%. Patients with stage IV bladder cancer are rarely cured, making it important to check out any symptoms.

"Blood in the urine is most common, but obviously urgency, frequency, going to the bathroom very often at night, changes in the flow of urination. The most important thing I recommend to patients is periodically visit your doctor," says Dr. Miranda-Sousa.

The vigilance paid off for Furlan.

"Everything was fine, the tumor completely disappear," says Furlan.

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we've been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org