Bladder Cancer - Diagnosis

Once a person faces any signs or symptoms of bladder cancer, he should go in for a check up immediately for further diagnosis and treatment. The person found with the symptoms is exposed to physical exam, intravenous pyelogram, cystoscopy and urine tests. Physical examination may reveal any kind of tumors in the pelvis and abdomen. During this physical exam, vagina and rectum are also examined for any tumors. Then the patient is tested for intravenous pyelogram, where he is injected with dye through the blood vessels. The dye gets collected in the urine and at the time of its storage in the urinary bladder, a clear picture of it is obtained on exposing to x-rays.

Testing the urine alone helps to detect any signs of the disease or even blood and tumor. For those people suspected to have bladed cancer, cystoscopy is done, where cystoscope, which is a lighted tube, is used to view the bladder directly. The cystoscope is actually inserted into the bladder through the urethra and it is used to examine the lining layer of the bladder. This procedure is done by giving anesthesia to the patient.