Bladder Cancer
Healthy Lifestyle
People with bladder cancer are currently living longer and with a better quality of life due to newer treatment options. Your health care team will work hard to help you tolerate treatment better, lower the risk of a recurrence and help protect against secondary cancers. Do your part by making smart lifestyle choices.
Diet and Exercise
Follow a well-balanced, heart-healthy diet. That typically includes eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, skinless poultry and fish, low-fat dairy products, nuts and legumes and non-tropical oils. You are encouraged to minimize alcohol consumption and avoid tobacco. If you need help with nutrition planning, ask your health care team for a referral to a dietitian.
As the medical community learns more about the connection between a healthy gut and a lowered risk of certain cancers, scientists are researching the relationship between the microbiome, probiotics and bladder cancer. The microbiome is the community of microorganisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that live in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are live microorganisms that can help the body function, digest food and produce vitamins.
Some data suggest there may be a link between a person’s microbiome and the development or growth of a cancer, but there is much work remaining to be done. In the meantime, consuming a healthy, fiber-rich diet is encouraged. Before taking probiotics or adding other supplements to your diet, ask your health care team for their recommendations.
Drinking enough fluids is essential to prevent dehydration. If drinking enough is challenging, flavoring your water by adding lemon, lime or other fruit slices, or drinking herbal teas may help.
Physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight and boost muscle strength and endurance. Taking short walks and getting light exercise several times a week can actually increase your energy level and boots your self-esteem.
Emotional Well-Being
A bladder cancer diagnosis may put you on an emotional roller coaster ride. Ongoing scans and tests often cause Scanxiety (stress+anxiety). Post-treatment physical changes may affect your self-esteem and your self-image. You are at risk for depression. It is crucial that you pay attention to your emotions and seek to improve them. These suggestions may help, but if you have feelings of sadness for more than a few days or have suicidal thoughts, contact your doctor immediately.
- Share your feelings with family, friends and co-workers.
- Join a bladder cancer support group.
- Socialize within your religious community.
- Meditate or do yoga.
- Write your feelings in a journal.
- Practice guided imagery in a group therapy setting.
Sexual Health
Bladder cancer treatment can bring up sexuality issues that should not be ignored. Being comfortable with your sexuality and enjoying a healthy sex life are important parts of life.
Sexual dysfunction is common during bladder cancer treatment. It may occur due to surgery, radiation to the pelvic area or hormone therapy that suppresses or removes reproductive organs. This may result in erectile dysfunction (ED), infertility, lack of desire and painful intercourse. Additionally, fatigue and mood changes can also occur.
For men, ED is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection. It is one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment in the pelvic area (bladder, prostate, rectum and urethra). ED can be caused by damage during treatment to nerves or blood vessels that supply the penis; reduced level of testosterone in the blood resulting from hormone therapy; or injury or damage to the testicles, which produce testosterone. ED treatment options include oral medications, penile injections, urethral suppositories, vacuum constriction devices and penile prostheses or implants.
For women, premature menopause can occur after removal of the ovaries. The resulting lower hormone levels may lead to menopausal symptoms, reduced libido (sex drive), inability to achieve or maintain arousal, vaginal dryness, pain during intercourse or the delay or absence of orgasm. Remedies include hormone replacement therapy, moisturizers to relieve vaginal dryness, lubricants to reduce pain during intercourse and vaginal dilators to gradually stretch the walls of the vagina to increase comfort during intercourse.
Regardless of your issue, communication is essential. You and your partner should talk openly with each other about your insecurities. Explore ways to be intimate other than intercourse. Consider reaching out to a professional counselor or sex therapist who has experience working with bladder cancer survivors.
Managing Incontinence
You may have bouts of urinary incontinence after treatment. Kegel exercises can offer some relief for bladder incontinence in just weeks if you practice them consistently. They can be performed before and after bladder cancer treatment, as long as you do not have a catheter in place. Aim for at least six sets of 10 repetitions a day. As your muscles get stronger, increase your repetitions daily.
- Try to do Kegels while you are standing. If you can’t, sit or choose a position that is comfortable for you. Don’t hold your breath. Instead, breathe freely while you exercise.
- Tighten your pelvic floor muscles, not the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks.
- Contract the muscles used to stop urinating mid-flow. Hold for 10 seconds, and then relax for 10 seconds.
