Bladder Cancer: Diagnosis
This overview explains our diagnosis process to help you understand what to expect as you go through the early steps of your care.
Because bladder cancer is a diverse group of diseases, an accurate diagnosis is critical for your treatment plan. It helps us recommend the most effective treatment options for you, in the right sequence.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BLADDER CANCER DIAGNOSIS
1GETTING STARTED IN YOUR CARE
2GETTING YOUR DIAGNOSIS
Consultation & Testing: What to Expect »
3PLANNING YOUR TREATMENT
4UNDERGOING TREATMENT & FOLLOW-UP
Select your type of treatment below.
For everyone who comes to us, we start your care by establishing or confirming a diagnosis.
FIRST VISIT
Consultation
Tests Results
Complex Cases
Before your first appointment, we collect your previous test reports and other medical records.
a. Our goal is to review them before we meet with you so that we understand your unique case. Knowing the details of any previous diagnoses and treatments helps us provide the best possible care for you.
b. When you schedule your first appointment, our patient coordinators will contact your primary care physician and any other doctors to gather all your records. We may need your help to do so, in case you need to sign a release form with your doctor. If we cannot obtain them in time, it may be most useful to reschedule your appointment to a later date. You can speak with your patient coordinator or your doctor for more details.
c. Some types of medical records that you should keep include:
- Imaging test results, either on paper or stored on a DVD
- Pathology reports from any biopsies or surgeries
- Operative reports from any surgeries
- Treatment summary for radiation therapy, if you had it
- List of medications, doses, and how long you took them for systemic therapy such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy
- Discharge summary if you had a hospital stay
- Contact information for health care providers who treated you for cancer
a. Our team meets with you for a thorough diagnostic evaluation. We gather more information during your first appointment but may still need additional tests to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
b. If needed, you may undergo further imaging tests, blood and urine tests, or a biopsy.
After this testing, it typically takes a few days to 2 weeks to review the results and confirm your diagnosis. Getting your test results can take time because your care team is working hard to determine an accurate diagnosis for you.
Many health care professionals collaborate in the process and provide expert analysis, including your oncologist (cancer doctor), radiologist, and pathologist. Years of experience studying bladder cancer every day means your pathologist can accurately identify critical details, such as whether the cancer:
i. Is invasive or noninvasive
ii. Shows a high or low cell grade (rating that describes how different the cancer cells are from normal cells)
iii. Is aggressive or slow growing
iv. Contains types of molecules that indicate the cancer subtype
a. Your care team will also determine the stage of bladder cancer. Staging describes the size of the cancer and whether (and how far) it has spread. Staging is the most important step in planning your treatment.
Stanford bladder cancer experts from several specialties confer as a team in a weekly meeting known as tumor board. This gathering of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, and pathologists thoroughly evaluates all the available clinical information, imaging tests, and pathology results for even the most complex of bladder cancer cases. This allows us to determine our recommendations for the best sequence of treatment for each patient.
Treatment recommendations
The oncologist (either medical, surgical, or radiation) who will begin your first treatment meets with you to discuss the recommended treatment plan. Together, you and your doctor decide on the treatment options that are right for you. Learn more about treatment planning »
Before your first appointment, we collect your previous test reports and other medical records.
a. Our goal is to review them before we meet with you so that we understand your unique case. Knowing the details of any previous diagnoses and treatments helps us provide the best possible care for you.
b. When you schedule your first appointment, our patient coordinators will contact your primary care physician and any other doctors to gather all your records. We may need your help to do so, in case you need to sign a release form with your doctor. If we cannot obtain them in time, it may be most useful to reschedule your appointment to a later date. You can speak with your patient coordinator or your doctor for more details.
c. Some types of medical records that you should keep include:
- Imaging test results, either on paper or stored on a DVD
- Pathology reports from any biopsies or surgeries
- Operative reports from any surgeries
- Treatment summary for radiation therapy, if you had it
- List of medications, doses, and how long you took them for systemic therapy such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy
- Discharge summary if you had a hospital stay
- Contact information for health care providers who treated you for cancer
close FIRST VISIT
a. Our team meets with you for a thorough diagnostic evaluation. We gather more information during your first appointment but may still need additional tests to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
b. If needed, you may undergo further imaging tests, blood and urine tests, or a biopsy.
close Consultation
After this testing, it typically takes a few days to 2 weeks to review the results and confirm your diagnosis. Getting your test results can take time because your care team is working hard to determine an accurate diagnosis for you.
Many health care professionals collaborate in the process and provide expert analysis, including your oncologist (cancer doctor), radiologist, and pathologist. Years of experience studying bladder cancer every day means your pathologist can accurately identify critical details, such as whether the cancer:
i. Is invasive or noninvasive
ii. Shows a high or low cell grade (rating that describes how different the cancer cells are from normal cells)
iii. Is aggressive or slow growing
iv. Contains types of molecules that indicate the cancer subtype
a. Your care team will also determine the stage of bladder cancer. Staging describes the size of the cancer and whether (and how far) it has spread. Staging is the most important step in planning your treatment.
close Tests Results
Stanford bladder cancer experts from several specialties confer as a team in a weekly meeting known as tumor board. This gathering of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, and pathologists thoroughly evaluates all the available clinical information, imaging tests, and pathology results for even the most complex of bladder cancer cases. This allows us to determine our recommendations for the best sequence of treatment for each patient.
Treatment recommendations
The oncologist (either medical, surgical, or radiation) who will begin your first treatment meets with you to discuss the recommended treatment plan. Together, you and your doctor decide on the treatment options that are right for you. Learn more about treatment planning »
close Complex Cases
At Stanford, we tailor the diagnostic phase of Bladder cancer care to each patient. If you need further testing to complete your diagnosis, your doctor and care team will work with you to determine which tests you need. Tests may include:
- Bladder Cancer Imaging Tests (Radiology)
To obtain the most precise understanding of your cancer, your doctor may schedule you for different types of imaging that diagnose bladder cancer. If you have been screened elsewhere and received abnormal results, we may perform additional imaging, if needed. - Cystoscopy
To help evaluate any condition that might affect the lining of your bladder -- including chronic infections, inflammation, stones, or tumors --your doctor may want to conduct a cystoscopy.
- Bladder Cancer Biopsy (Pathology)
If your imaging or other screening tests show that you may have bladder cancer, you will need a biopsy. This test takes a sample of cells from abnormal tissues. - Bladder Cancer Lab Tests (Blood and Urine)
Before and during treatment, your doctor may ask you to have your blood or urine tested at a lab. Blood tests can provide a variety of information, helping to establish your diagnosis and plan your course of bladder cancer treatment.