Diagnosis of bladder cancer
The doctor may check general signs of health and may order lab tests if a patient has symptoms that suggest bladder cancer.The person may have one or more of the following procedures:
• Physical exam — The doctor feels the abdomen and pelvis for tumors. The physical exam may include a rectal or vaginal exam.
• Intravenous pyelogram — The doctor injects dye into a blood vessel. The dye collects in the urine, making the bladder show up on x-rays.
• Urine tests — The laboratory checks the urine for blood, cancer cells, and other signs of disease.
• Cystoscopy — The doctor uses a thin, lighted tube (cystoscope) to look directly into the bladder. The doctor inserts the cystoscope into the bladder through the urethra to examine the lining of the bladder. The patient may need anesthesia for this procedure.
A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope The doctor can remove samples of tissue with the cystoscope.. The removal of tissue to look for cancer cells is called a biopsy. A biopsy is the only sure way to tell whether cancer is present in many cases,. For a small number of patients, the doctor removes the entire cancerous area during the biopsy. Bladder cancer is diagnosed and treated in a single procedure for these patients,
