Treating bladder cancer in its final stage requires the assistance of the world’s best doctors. The challenge is that their services can be quite expensive. We’ll explain how to receive 4 stage bladder cancer treatment in Germany at a relatively affordable price and discuss the main methods used for this disease.
Treatment Trends
Typically, bladder cancer is detected at an early stage and successfully treated using transurethral resection, intravesical chemotherapy, and immune therapy with the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine. However, when carcinoma is discovered in the muscle-invasive stage, the treatment is based on bladder removal followed by systemic therapy. Even with invasive bladder cancer, there are good chances for successful treatment.
Finally, significant local tumor spread, metastases in nearby lymph nodes, or distant metastasis lead to a diagnosis of stage IV cancer. For such patients, clinical guidelines from most medical organizations recommend systemic therapy.
However, it’s worth noting that not all cases of final-stage bladder cancer involve distant metastases. For M0 patients (without distant metastasis), local treatment options remain relevant. In some cases, chemoradiotherapy is appropriate. A small number of patients, after primary drug treatment and possibly radiation therapy, may subsequently undergo surgical removal of the bladder in an attempt to cure the cancer. Even if eliminating the malignant tumor isn’t possible, surgery can at least ensure long-term survival.
Systemic Treatment Methods in Developed Countries
Still, most patients with final-stage cancer receive only systemic therapy, without local procedures and operations. Many will require therapy with medications that are quite expensive on their own, so expenses will be high even without considering the cost of medical clinic services.
However, treatment success and patient survival largely depend on the methods used and the choice of clinic. Therefore, don’t expect treatment to be cheap. We’ll explain how to reduce expenses, but they will still amount to tens of thousands of euros if you want to control cancer long-term.
In Germany, the newest medications for bladder cancer treatment include:
- Immune therapy with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors
- Antibody-drug conjugates
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted therapy with FGFR inhibitors
Some clinics are also exploring experimental approaches, with dendritic cell vaccines being actively researched. These personalized treatments aim to train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells more effectively.
The choice of treatment depends on various factors, including tumor grade, the patient’s overall health status, and previous treatments received. Success rates and survival largely depend on choosing the right combination of these methods and selecting a clinic with experience in administering these advanced therapies.
How to Reduce Treatment Expenses
If you’ve been diagnosed with stage IV cancer, you can go for treatment in Germany. You can significantly save by using the Booking Health service because:
- You can choose an affordable clinic. Use the search bar to select your diagnosis. Choose a treatment method, then sort the list of clinics by price. You’ll get the most affordable option, but keep in mind it might not be the best.
- Get a consultation from a Booking Health specialist to find the best price-quality ratio. Leave a request on the website, and you’ll receive a call within 24 hours.
- Book through the German company Booking Health. You immediately receive medical services at a lower cost due to the absence of additional fees for foreign patients. Additionally, you receive insurance that covers extra expenses in case of complications.
Now you know how to choose an affordable clinic in Germany and save on treatment. Services may be even cheaper in other countries: Turkey, Thailand, India, and others. Leading clinics from these countries are also presented on the Booking Health website. Choose a suitable medical center, make an appointment for your treatment, and receive medical services at more accessible prices.
