Determining Stages of Bladder Cancer on the Central Coast

Bladder cancer stages help your doctor determine the best treatment option for effective treatment and healthy outcomes. At Dignity Health Central Coast, our caring oncology team follows a philosophy of care, dignity, and respect as you explore your bladder cancer treatment options. 

Stages for bladder cancer range from 0, with cancer only in the bladder lining, to a stage IV bladder cancer prognosis, which is when the cancer has spread to another area. To better understand bladder cancer stages on the Central Coast of California, Find a Doctor at Dignity Health Central Coast who provides cancer care with humankindness.

 

Defining Bladder Cancer Stages at Dignity Health Central Coast

The stage of your bladder cancer helps determine your personalized treatment plan at Dignity Health Central Coast. Surgery and imaging tests, such as MRIs and CT scans, help your doctor stage bladder cancer. 

Stages for bladder cancer are: 

  • Stage 0: Only the bladder’s lining has cancer. Surgeons can remove these early tumors. Your may not need any further treatment, or your doctor may recommend intravesical therapy.
  • Stage I: Your tumor spreads into the tissue under the bladder lining. After the tumor is removed with surgery, intravesical therapy can reduce the risk of the cancer’s return.
  • Stage II: The cancer spreads further into the muscle of your bladder wall but has not involved the lymph nodes or other body areas. Your doctor typically will recommend removing part or all of your bladder with systemic chemotherapy before or after.
  • Stage III: The cancer has spread through your bladder wall and, perhaps, your reproductive organs. Surgery with chemotherapy is the preferred treatment. If you cannot have surgery, chemotherapy and radiation become an option.
  • Stage IV: The cancer is in the abdominal wall, distant body areas, and lymph nodes. While surgery is unable to remove all of the cancer, chemotherapy with or without radiation can help you feel better and slow the cancer.

Whether your cancer is in an early stage or bladder cancer stage IV, a Dignity Health Central Coast cancer doctor is there every step of the way. Schedule an appointment to speak to a trusted doctor about bladder cancer symptoms and stages of bladder cancer on the Central Coast.

Dignity Health provides personalized cancer care for all stages of bladder cancer on the Central Coast of California.