Cystectomy is the surgical removal of the bladder. Segmental cystectomy removes only the part of the bladder while radical cystectomy removes the entire bladder and suspicious surrounding tissue. In women this means removal of the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, part of the vagina and urethra. In men, the prostate, the seminal vesicles, and sometimes the urethra and pelvic lymph nodes are removed. In an ileal conduit procedure, the ureters are connected to a piece of intestine that then carries the urine out of the body and into a pouch worn next to the body under clothing.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
These are usually carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. If bladder cancer has spread, it must be treated with chemotherapy. Given after surgery, chemotherapy drugs are called adjuvant chemotherapy, and given before, they are called neoadjuvant therapy. Radiation may be external when it comes from a machine outside the body or internal when a small container of radioactive material is implanted in the bladder. Biological therapy , or immunotherapy, uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer, and it may be given through a tube directly into the bladder.