Urologic Cancer Care

There are several tests and procedures that we use to diagnose urological cancer. Depending on the type of cancer, your provider may recommend one or more of the following: 

• A physical exam to feel for tumors in the abdomen and pelvis, and a digital rectal exam to feel for nodules on the prostate
• A urine test (or cytology) to check for signs of disease, such as blood and cancer cells
• Blood test to detect tumor cells or proteins
• Abdominal or chest imaging with X-ray, CT scan or MRI
• Ultrasound to detect testicular cancer
• A needle biopsy to withdraw a sample of tissue for testing
• Cystoscopy, in which a thin, lighted scope is inserted into the bladder through the urethra to examine the lining of the bladder
• Blue light cystoscopy, a new technology that uses chemical fluorescence to identify small, hard-to-see tumors
• You may need a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, for which a high number may be the first sign of prostate cancer