Follow-up after treatment for bladder cancer
Follow-up after treatment is an important part of cancer care. Follow-up for bladder cancer is often shared among the specialists, such as your urologist and oncologist, and your family doctor. Your healthcare team will work with you to decide on follow-up care to meet your needs.
Don’t wait until your next scheduled appointment to report any new symptoms and symptoms that don’t go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- blood in the urine (pee) (hematuria)
- a need to urinate more often than usual (frequent urination)
- an intense need to urinate (urgent urination)
- burning or pain during urination
- difficulty urinating
- low back pain or pain in the pelvis
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
The chance that bladder cancer will come back (recur) is greatest within 2 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time.
Schedule for follow-up visits
Follow-up visits for bladder cancer are usually scheduled every 3 to 6 months for the first 2 years then every year after that. Your doctor may want to continue frequent follow-up for more than 2 years. This depends on factors such as
During follow-up visits
During a follow-up visit, your healthcare team will usually ask questions about the side effects of treatment and how you’re coping. They may also ask about any symptoms you have.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including:
- a pelvic exam or digital rectal exam (DRE)
- feeling for swollen lymph nodes in the pelvis and groin
- feeling the abdomen for an enlarged liver
Tests are often part of follow-up care. You may have:
- cystoscopy and urine cytology to check for cancer (if your bladder isn’t removed as part of your cancer treatment)
- blood tests to check your overall health and how your kidneys are working
- CT urography, CT scan or ultrasound to check for cancer in the pelvis and abdomen
- x-ray or CT scan of the chest to check if the cancer has spread to the lungs
If the cancer has come back, you and your healthcare team will discuss a plan for your treatment and care.
Questions to ask about follow-up
To make the decisions that are right for you, ask your healthcare team questions about follow-up.