Follow up after non muscle invasive bladder cancer treatment

After treatment, you have regular check ups Open a glossary item to look for signs of cancer coming back or spreading.

Follow up gives you a chance to discuss with your specialist how you are. You can talk about any problems and raise any concerns you have about your progress.

You usually have follow up appointments every few months.

What happens?

Your doctor or nurse examines you at each appointment. They ask how you’re feeling, whether you’ve had any symptoms Open a glossary item or side effects Open a glossary item and if you’re worried about anything.

Your doctor also looks inside your bladder Open a glossary item using a flexible tube (cystoscopy Open a glossary item). You have a local Open a glossary item or general anaesthetic Open a glossary item while they do this. 

They might also test your urine. They are looking at the cells in the urine to look for signs of cancer. This is called a urine cytology test. 

How often you have appointments

Your specialist decides how often you should have cystoscopies. This depends on the risk of your cancer coming back or spreading deeper into the bladder wall. 

Low risk

You may only need to have a cystoscopy 3 months after treatment, then after 1 year.

After this you might not need to see your doctor again.

Moderate risk

You may have a cystoscopy at 3, 9 and 18 months after treatment.

After that you may have a cystoscopy once every year for up to 5 years after treatment. Then you might not need to see your doctor again.

High risk

You may have a cystoscopy every 3 months for the first 2 years, and then every 6 months for the next 2 years.

After that you might have one cystoscopy every year.

After removal of your bladder (cystectomy)

You still have regular check ups if you had your bladder removed for early bladder cancer.  You usually have a CT scan Open a glossary item at 6, 12 and 24 months to check for any signs of the cancer coming back.

You also have blood tests Open a glossary item at least once a year. These are to check how well your kidneys Open a glossary item are working, and that you are absorbing enough vitamin B.

Men also have yearly tests for up to 5 years to check their urethra Open a glossary item. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of your body.

If you are on a clinical trial

Your follow up may be different if you have been part of a clinical trial Open a glossary item. Your doctor or clinical trial team will explain to you when and what you will have after your treatment has finished.

Between appointments

Contact your doctor or specialist nurse if you have any concerns. You should also contact them if you notice any new symptoms between appointments. You don’t have to wait until your next visit.

Many people find their check ups quite worrying. A hospital appointment can bring back any anxiety you had about your cancer.

It can help to tell someone close to you how you’re feeling. Sharing your worries can mean they don’t seem so overwhelming. Many people find it helpful to have counselling after cancer treatment.

Cancer Research UK nurses

For support and information, you can call the Cancer Research UK information nurses. They can give advice about who can help you and what kind of support is available. Freephone: 0808 800 4040 - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

If your bladder cancer comes back

The surgeon can remove the growths with a cystoscopy again. This happens if stage Ta or T1 bladder cancer comes back after treatment.

Your specialist takes more biopsies Open a glossary item to check that the cancer is still at an early stage. If it is, you usually have chemotherapy Open a glossary item or BCG Open a glossary item treatment into the bladder. You then go back to having regular cystoscopies to check your bladder. Every 3 to 4 months you have scans to check your chest Open a glossary item, tummy (abdomen Open a glossary item) and pelvis Open a glossary item, for up to 2 years. This is usually a CT scan but can be a bone scan Open a glossary item or MRI scan Open a glossary item.

Your doctor might suggest you have more intensive treatment such as surgery to remove your bladder (cystectomy). They might recommend this if your cancer is:

  • grade 3 (the cancer cells look very abnormal)
  • at a more advanced stage than before
  • carcinoma in situ (CIS) Open a glossary item that has come back after treatment into the bladder
  • EAU Guidelines on Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer (TaT1 and CIS)
    P Gontero and others
    European Association of Urology, 2022 (Updated March 2025)

  • Bladder cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up
    T Powles and others
    ESMO Annals of Oncology, 2022. Volume 33, Issue 3, Pages 244-258

  • Bladder cancer: diagnosis and management
    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2015

  • Bladder Cancer Regional Follow-up Guidelines
    West of Scotland Cancer Network, 2015

Last reviewed: 
08 Aug 2025
Next review due: 
08 Aug 2028

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