Focusing on You: Bladder Cancer Care At Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Chad Ritch is an urologic oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System. To find a doctor or make an appointment at one of Sylvester's locations (Miami, Deerfield Beach, Kendall, Coral Gables, Plantation, Coral Springs and Hollywood), visit the Sylvester website or call the patient access program (305) 243-6630 or (305) 243-6090 For more cancer news and research, go to University of Miami's health news blog
WHAT IS BLUE-LIGHT CYSTOSCOPY?
Cystoscopy is a method used to detect cancerous tumors in the bladder using a camera with standard white light visualization. Recent technologic advancements have enhanced cystoscopy to enable cameras to use light of a special visual spectrum i.e. "blue light" (as opposed to white light), along with a new medication, Cysview™, that is instilled into the bladder and makes tumors fluoresce red, compared to the normal tissue which is blue. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only cancer center in South Florida offering Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview™, and this new technology has been shown to improve the detection of bladder cancer by sixteen percent as compared to traditional cystoscopy with white light.
During the procedure, which is performed under anesthesia at the time of tumor removal, the urologist begins the cystoscopy with white light, and then switches to the blue light to help ensure that all cancerous areas have been identified. Affected areas appear red, making identification and resection easier for the physician. After resection of the cancerous tissue, the physician uses the blue light to make sure all of the affected tissue has been removed.
This new blue-light method has been shown to decrease the rate of cancer recurrence by 10 percent, as well as lengthen the amount of time that patients remain cancer free. "Adding blue-light florescence gives me the confidence to know that I'm seeing any additional cancer," says Dr. Ritch. "If we see it and we resect it, we can be sure that we've gotten all of it."
For patients who have an abnormal traditional cystoscopy, or a history of bladder cancer and suspected recurrence, a blue light cystoscopy can help ensure that the cancer is detected or, conversely, reassure patients that the area is cancer free.
WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR BLUE LIGHT CYSTOSCOPY?
- Patients who are newly diagnosed with a bladder tumor
- Patients who have had bladder cancer in the past and are showing signs of recurrence
- Patient with no previous history who show abnormal results with a traditional cystoscopy
- Patients for who an urine cytology has indicated the possible presence of cancer, even if no tumors are visible with the white light cystoscopy
ABOUT SYLVESTER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is among the nation's leading cancer centers and South Florida's only Cancer Center of Excellence. A 2015 study by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that cancer patients treated at Sylvester have a 10 percent higher chance of survival than those treated at nearly any other cancer center in the nation. Sylvester has a network of conveniently located outpatient treatment facilities in Miami, Coral Gables, Kendall, Hollywood, Plantation, Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs. For more information, visit Sylvester.org.
FOCUSING ON YOU
Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine is a series of healthcare-related stories airing regularly on CBS4. For more stories like this one, visit YouTube channels for Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UHealth, University of Miami Health System.
Above content provided by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UHealth, University of Miami Health System
