Urinary Bladder Cancer: Sushil Kumar Modi died due to Urothelial carcinoma Know symptoms, is it curable?

New Delhi. Former Deputy CM of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi succumbed to a six-month-long battle with stage-2 bladder cancer. The 72-year-old leader of Bhartiya Janta Party had informed his followers through a tweet that he would not be contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections after he disclosed that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and was coping with the same for the last 6 months.

While the sudden demise of this great leader from Bihar amidst the current election fever has left everyone despondent, many are trying to understand more about the cause of his death which is urinary bladder cancer. 

What is urinary bladder cancer?

Urothelial carcinoma the medical term used for bladder cancer, is a kind of cancer that arises from strange overmultiplication of the urothelial cells lining in the bladder, where urine gets stored. This type of cancer is curable if diagnosed in the early stages.

According to experts, there exists around a 75 percent chance of reoccurrence of the cancer even after treatment, therefore it is suggested those suffering from this cancer for quite some time must keep in regular touch with doctors. 

Symptoms of urinary bladder cancer

Understanding the early signals can prove to help prevent this cancer. Some of its common symptoms include Hematuria, or blood in urine, frequent urination, painful urination, pelvic pain, and back pain.

What are the risk factors?

Physicians claim that the precise reason for some of the bladder cell mutations that result in fatal cancer remains unknown, but some common reasons include Smoking, Radiation therapy used for cancer, chronic bladder inflammation, frequent experience of bladder infections, bladder stones, or other urinary tract infections, and chemical exposure including specific chemicals found in dye, rubber, textiles, and paint products.

How bladder cancer can be treated?

The most common types of treatments used for it include: 

Surgery- This is further divided into two types, the first being Transurethral resection and the seconf being cystectomy

Chemotherapy- Systematic use of drugs to kill cancer cells

Immunotherapy- Boosting the body's immune system to combat the cancer cells.

Radiation therapy- Using high-energy X-rays or other particles to destroy cells.

Gene therapy- It includes altering the genetic code of cells to make them perform new functions or to improve their functionality. 

Ways to diagnose the cancer

To get confirmation whether an individual is suffering from urinary bladder cancer or not, they can go for different ways of diagnosis. It could be done through,

Urinalysis- This detects blood or cancer cells in the urine. 

Cystoscopy- A process in which a thin tube is inserted with a camera into the bladder to look for abnormalities.

Biopsy- Removal of tissue for examination 

CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays to determine the extent of the spread of the cancer.