Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Superficial bladder cancers can normally be removed without major surgery.
The procedure is called a transurethral resection of the bladder tumour (TURBT or TURT). The surgeon passes an instrument called a resectoscope through the urethra and into the bladder, and takes the cancer out through the tube. You will normally have a general anaesthetic for this, and will stay in hospital for two or three days.
You will usually have some extra treatment afterwards, to help stop new cancers forming. This is called intravesical therapy and may be either intravesical chemotherapy or intravesical immunotherapy (BCG). The hospital staff may also call these treatments bladder instillations.
Both involve giving you drugs straight into your bladder through a tube called a catheter. You may get just one dose of drugs, or a few doses over several weeks.
Although it is fairly easy to remove superficial bladder cancers, they quite often come back. After your treatment has finished you will need to visit the hospital for regular follow up tests (cystoscopies) to see whether your bladder is still cancer-free.
There are some types of superficial bladder cancer that are more likely than others to become invasive. If you have one of these types, your doctor may want you to have more intensive follow up. Your doctor will discuss this with you, if it applies to you.
