Stage IV Cancer cells have spread to the wall of the abdomen or pelvis or to the lymph nodes in the area. The cancer may have also spread to other parts of the body far away from the bladder. It may come back in the original place or in another part of the body. There are treatments for all patients with cancer of the bladder. A new type of treatment called photodynamic therapy is being tested in clinical trials.
Surgery is a common treatment of cancer of the bladder.
Segmental cystectomy is an operation to take out the part of the bladder where the cancer is found. Because bladder cancer often occurs in more than one part of the bladder, this operation is used only in selected cases where the cancer is in one area. Cystectomy is an operation to take out the bladder. Radical cystectomy is an operation to take out the bladder and the tissue around it. In women, the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, part of the vagina, and urethra are also removed.