Stages
A bladder cancer patient is confronted with a totally new vocabulary and set of definitions that might as well be a foreign language. Some of the most confusing and yet salient terms refer to the grade and stage of the tumors mentioned in the pathology report.
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Briefly, “grade” refers to the potential that the particular tumor has to grow and spread. Low grade tumors have cells that are relatively slowly dividing and growing. Bladder cancer tumors of this type are often treated by removal of the visible tumor and frequent exams by a urologist to assure that there has been no change. One common issue with low grade bladder tumors is that they often return
“Stage” assigns a number to the tumor(s) that assesses how far the cancer has spread. The stage designations range from T0 (no evidence of a primary tumor in the bladder); Ta (non-invasive papillary carcinoma); Tis (carcinoma in situ or CIS); T1 (tumor has spread to the lamina propria)’ T2 (tumor has spread to the muscle); T3 (tumor has spread into the tissue surrounding the bladder); to T4 (tumor has spread beyond the bladder.)
It is important for the patient to keep copies of any pathology reports (ask the urologist for them) and to take notes of discussions with the doctor. These will be useful in the future as treatment progresses and will also bring to mind questions for the doctor.
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