Treatments

Urologic Cancer Treatments

Northwestern Medicine provides state-of-the-art treatment technologies and multidisciplinary care for urologic cancers. Our specialists will review treatment options with you and provide thoughtful and directed guidance to help you choose the best option.

Treatment for urologic cancer is either local or systemic. Local treatments, including surgery and radiation, remove, destroy or control the cancer cells in a specific area. Systemic treatments, such as chemotherapy, are used to destroy or control cancer cells throughout the entire body. You may have just one treatment or a combination of conventional and advanced treatments, including:

• Robotic and minimally invasive surgery for a wide variety of urologic cancers
• Radical cystectomy and continent urinary diversion (bladder replacement)
• Nerve-sparing techniques for bladder cancer
• Nephron-sparing surgery and renal cryosurgery
• State-of-the-art systemic treatments (chemotherapy or immunotherapy) for advanced or metastatic urologic cancers
• Novel anti-angiogenic approaches to the management of advanced urologic cancers
• Conventional conformal radiation therapy and brachytherapy (seed implants)
• Access to a wide variety of national and international cancer treatment protocols that are useful for patients with aggressive or advanced urologic cancers