What is recurrent bladder cancer?

What is non-muscle invasive bladder cancer recurrence?

What are the causes and risk factors for bladder cancer recurrence?

How do you know if bladder cancer has recurred? How will your healthcare professional monitor for recurrence?

How is recurrent non-muscle invasive bladder cancer treated?

Your bladder cancer has recurred. What can you do and where can you find support?

......................................................................................................................................................


What is recurrent bladder cancer?

The National Cancer Institute defines recurrent bladder cancer as cancer that has recurred or come back after it has been treated. Although treatment is aimed at getting rid of all cancer cells, a few cancerous cells may survive. These undetected cancer cells may multiply and can result in a recurrence of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer often recurs. Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer has a high likelihood of recurring.

Recurrence can be local, meaning the tumor recurs in or near the original tumor or cancer site. Recurrent bladder cancer can also be distant, where the cancer has spread to adjacent organs or even distant organs in the body.

Learning you have recurrent bladder cancer may be harder than dealing with the initial diagnosis. But recurrent bladder cancer is far from hopeless. Have hope in knowing that treatment may help manage the disease and may allow you to embrace and participate in the things you’ve always enjoyed in life.

The Hope After Recurrence website’s resources are aimed at people with local recurrence of non-muscle invasive disease.  If you have distant recurrence or metastasis, please visit BCAN’s main website for information and resources that are more appropriate for your situation.