My bladder tumor is BENIGN!

Posted By  Dianne on April 18, 1999 at 16:17:59
I wrote two weeks ago about the urologist finding a tumor in my bladder.  Since that time I have had an IVP with tomography and surgery to remove the bladder tumor, which was less than 2 cm.  The IVP was totally negative and the tumor biopsy report was negative for malignancy.  The urologist's nurse gave me this information by phone and said that the pathology did show that I had chronic cystitis.  I go for follow-up with the urologist in about 3 weeks.  I was so happy to learn that this tumor was not cancerous as I was never able to find any information about benign bladder tumors, and was beginning to believe they didn't exist.  My questions:  1)  What is "chronic cystitis"?  I have had UTIs in the past, but they have always cleared as far as bacteria, only blood remained.  2)  Would this "chronic cystitis" have caused this tumor?  Thank you very much for any information.  

[hfhs M.D.-AK]

Dear Dianne,
Chronic cystitis is simply inflammation of the bladder that appears to have been present for a long period of time.  The specimen in question is stained for viewing under a microscope   The types of cells present determine if the process is acute or chronic.  The definition of cystitis is inflammation of the bladder, whether used as a histologic, bacteriologic, or cystoscopic description.  In your case, this is a histologic diagnosis.
Sometimes inflammation of the bladder can cause peculiar folds in the bladder that can be easily confused with a cancerous lesion cystoscopically.  It is always the safe thing to remove anything that looks like cancer of the bladder just in case it is malignant.  You did not have a Tumor, you had a negative biopsy for bladder cancer.
Your chronic cystitis most likely comes from your recurrent urinary tract infections and is benign.  This process should resolve with the proper antibiotics.
This information is provided for general medical educational purposes only.  Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition.  More individualized care is available at the Henry Ford Hospital and its satellites (1 800 653-6568).
Sincerely,
HFHS M.D.-AK
*keyword:Cystitis