Genitourinary (GU) cancer includes cancers in the reproductive organs in men and the urinary system of both men and women. The medical abbreviation for the genitourinary system and urological cancer is GU.
Quality cancer treatment depends upon coordination and collaboration between treatment providers and you. We take a team-based approach, bringing together multiple specialists with expertise in the treatment and research of GU cancer.
The OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute in Peoria, Illinois, leads our efforts to care for patients with urologic malignancies. We take a team-based approach, bringing together multiple specialists with expertise in the treatment and research of these diseases.
We serve the entirety of an individual — mind, body and spirit. At OSF, we honor individuality with a cancer care plan that’s as unique as you are, provided by our dedicated teams that support you before, during and after treatment.
These cancers of the male reproductive system and the male and female urinary system include:
There are many options for treating GU cancers, including:
If your cancer has not spread to distant parts of your body, treatment will generally include surgery. You may also receive intravesical therapy to stimulate the immune system to fight the disease. In some instances, this treatment makes surgery possible. In other cases, it allows organ-sparing surgery.
In muscle-invasive diseases, you will often get chemotherapy, radiation therapy or both before or after surgery to help shrink the tumor. These treatments are used to kill remaining cancer cells that are not visible to the naked eye.
In circumstances where cancer has spread, it is common to treat it with chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted therapy.
Quality cancer treatment depends upon coordination and collaboration between treatment providers and you. Our program offers you a team-based approach, bringing together multiple specialists with expertise in the treatment and research of GU system and urologic oncology.
You will have a dedicated team of radiologists and pathologists who work together to diagnose cancer.
Our nurse navigators work to ensure that your diagnosis and treatment appointments run smoothly. They also arrange supportive service appointments with counselors, financial navigators and oncology dieticians.
Along with medical and radiation oncologists, you might require board-certified, specially trained surgeons.
Other specialized providers and therapists, including pelvic floor therapists and ostomy nurses, work with you after your treatment.
The OSF Cancer Institute in Peoria provides you with additional specialist clinics if needed. Specialized clinics are also available at The OSF Cancer Institute in Peoria. Clinics include: