Newly Diagnosed?
We Can Help Getting the correct diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment from the start is crucial 
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Physicians most often diagnose bladder cancer by examining cells in the urine under a microscope and inspecting the bladder with a cystoscope -- a thin, lighted instrument inserted into the bladder through the urethra. Physicians use the cystoscope to look inside the bladder and remove tissue samples or small tumors to determine whether disease is present.
If doctors suspect that a patient has cancer, they will remove a tissue sample for biopsy during the cystoscopic procedure and examine it under a microscope. If cancer is confirmed, they may use imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) to determine whether it is confined to the bladder or has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body such as the lymph nodes, lungs, bones, or liver. They may also use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine how deeply the cancer has invaded the muscle in the bladder wall, and whether it has grown beyond the bladder wall.
Research is under way at Memorial Sloan-Kettering to determine if MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) can more accurately diagnose and stage bladder cancer.
