What does bladder cancer look like

During a CT urogram, a contrast dye injected into a vein in your hand eventually flows into your kidneys, ureters and bladder. X-ray images taken during the test provide a detailed view of your urinary tract and help your doctor identify any areas that might be cancer. Retrograde pyelogram is an X-ray exam used to get a detailed look at the upper urinary tract. During this test, your doctor threads a thin tube catheter through your urethra and into your bladder to inject contrast dye into your ureters.

The dye then flows into your kidneys while X-ray images are captured. After confirming that you have bladder cancer, your doctor may recommend additional tests to determine whether your cancer has spread to your lymph nodes or to other areas of your body. Your doctor uses information from these procedures to assign your cancer a stage.

The stages of bladder cancer are indicated by Roman numerals ranging from 0 to IV. The lowest stages indicate a cancer that's confined to the inner layers of the bladder and that hasn't grown to affect the muscular bladder wall.

The highest stage — stage IV — indicates cancer that has spread to lymph nodes or organs in distant areas of the body.

Bladder cancers are further classified based on how the cancer cells appear when viewed through a microscope. This is known as the grade, and your doctor may describe bladder cancer as either low grade or high grade:. Our caring team of Mayo Clinic experts can help you with your bladder cancer-related health concerns Start Here. Treatment options for bladder cancer depend on a number of factors, including the type of cancer, grade of the cancer and stage of the cancer, which are taken into consideration along with your overall health and your treatment preferences.

A combination of treatment approaches may be recommended by your doctor and members of your care team. During an ileal conduit procedure, your surgeon creates a new tube from a piece of intestine that allows your kidneys to drain and urine to exit the body through a small opening called a stoma. During neobladder surgery, your surgeon takes out your existing bladder and forms an internal pouch from part of your intestine.

The pouch, called a neobladder, stores your urine. TURBT is a procedure to diagnose bladder cancer and to remove cancers confined to the inner layers of the bladder — those that aren't yet muscle-invasive cancers. During the procedure, a surgeon passes an electric wire loop through a cystoscope and into the bladder. The electric current in the wire is used to cut away or burn away the cancer.

Alternatively, a high-energy laser may be used. Because doctors perform the procedure through the urethra, you won't have any cuts incisions in your abdomen.

As part of the TURBT procedure, your doctor may recommend a one-time injection of cancer-killing medication chemotherapy into your bladder to destroy any remaining cancer cells and to prevent cancer from coming back. The medication remains in your bladder for a period of time and then is drained. Cystectomy is surgery to remove all or part of the bladder.

During a partial cystectomy, your surgeon removes only the portion of the bladder that contains a single cancerous tumor. A radical cystectomy is an operation to remove the entire bladder and the surrounding lymph nodes. In men, radical cystectomy typically includes removal of the prostate and seminal vesicles. In women, radical cystectomy may involve removal of the uterus, ovaries and part of the vagina.

Radical cystectomy can be performed through an incision on the lower portion of the belly or with multiple small incisions using robotic surgery. During robotic surgery, the surgeon sits at a nearby console and uses hand controls to precisely move robotic surgical instruments. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy treatment for bladder cancer usually involves two or more chemotherapy drugs used in combination. Radiation therapy uses beams of powerful energy, such as X-rays and protons, to destroy the cancer cells.

Radiation therapy for bladder cancer usually is delivered from a machine that moves around your body, directing the energy beams to precise points. Radiation therapy is sometimes combined with chemotherapy to treat bladder cancer in certain situations, such as when surgery isn't an option or isn't desired.

Some side effects may feel like having the flu, such as fever, chills, and feeling tired. Chemo is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs may be given into a vein or taken as pills. They go into the blood and spread through the body. Chemo is usually the main treatment for advanced bladder cancers, such as those that have spread to other parts of the body. Chemo is given in cycles or rounds. Each round of treatment is followed by a break.

Most of the time, 2 or more chemo drugs are given. Treatment often lasts for many months. Chemo can make you feel very tired, sick to your stomach, and cause your hair to fall out. But these problems go away after treatment ends. There are ways to treat most chemo side effects. If you have side effects, talk to your cancer care team so they can help.

In radiation therapy, a machine sends x-rays to a specific part of the patient's body to kill cancer cells. Radiation is often given along with chemo. Certain chemo drugs can help the radiation work better. Most side effects get better after treatment ends. Some might last longer. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect. Immunotherapy is treatment that boosts your immune system to attack the cancer cells. Different types of immunotherapy can be used to treat bladder cancer. These drugs can be put right into the bladder as a liquid or given into a vein.

Immunotherapy can cause different side effects depending on which drug is used. These tend to be mild, such as feeling tired or having an upset stomach, but in some people the side effects can be serious. Most side effects go away after treatment ends. Clinical trials are research studies that test new drugs or other treatments in people. They compare standard treatments with others that may be better. If you'd like to learn more about clinical trials that might be right for you, start by asking your doctor if your clinic or hospital conducts clinical trials.

See Clinical Trials to learn more. Clinical trials are one way to get the newest cancer treatments. They are the best way for doctors to find better ways to treat cancer. When you have cancer you might hear about other ways to treat cancer or treat your symptoms. These may not always be standard medical treatments. These treatments can be vitamins, herbs, special diets, and other things. You may be curious about these treatments. Some of these are known to help, but many have not been tested.

Some have been shown not to be helpful. Show references AskMayoExpert. Bladder cancer adult. Mayo Clinic; Bladder cancer. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Accessed April 1, Partin AW, et al. Campbell-Walsh-Wein Urology.

Elsevier; Bladder cancer treatment PDQ. National Cancer Institute. Accessed April 8, What is retrograde pyelography? Urology Care Foundation. Accessed April 15, Urinary diversion. Warner KJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic.