Cancer guide
By Cura Editorial Team ·
Painless blood in the urine is the classic first sign — and needs a same-week workup. Most bladder cancers are caught at a non-invasive stage that's very treatable.
Recent approvals and trial results — and the questions to ask your oncologist about whether any of it applies to you. Not every option fits every person.
The FDA expanded approval of enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab before and after bladder removal after a phase 3 trial showed better survival than standard chemotherapy.
May apply to: Muscle-invasive bladder cancer, surgery candidates
Ask your oncologist:
Source: FDA
The FDA approved atezolizumab for people whose ctDNA blood test shows cancer traces after bladder removal, based on the IMvigor011 trial.
May apply to: Muscle-invasive bladder cancer with detectable ctDNA
Ask your oncologist:
Source: FDA
Reviewed September 25, 2026.
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The signs that most often lead to a bladder cancer diagnosis are: any visible blood in the urine — even once, even painless; new or persistent urinary urgency, frequency, or burning without infection; recurrent 'utis' in men, or utis that don't clear with antibiotics. Any of these lasting more than a couple of weeks is worth a same-week appointment, even though most turn out to be something else.
See a doctor promptly if a symptom is new, persistent, or getting worse rather than better. Describe when it started, how often it happens, and what makes it better or worse — that detail is what decides whether you get imaging or testing at the first visit.
Painless blood in the urine is the classic first sign — and needs a same-week workup. Most bladder cancers are caught at a non-invasive stage that's very treatable. About 75% of bladder cancers are non-muscle-invasive at diagnosis. Cystoscopy (a scope look at the bladder) is the definitive test. Smoking is by far the largest modifiable risk factor.
Ask what the exact diagnosis is and how it is staged, what the treatment options are and in what order they would happen, what the goal of treatment is, which side effects to expect, and whether a second opinion or clinical trial makes sense for your situation.
Paste a pathology report, upload a scan summary, or just type the question you'd ask your oncologist if you had more than 15 minutes. Cura will answer in plain language.
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If a start date is on the calendar, or you feel lost between diagnosis and the first infusion, build a first-visit brief on the page: what's known, what's missing, what to ask. Homework, not a treatment plan.
Cura Brief is educational. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Confirm everything with your oncology team. If this is an emergency, call emergency services. Email is not an emergency line.
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Waiting for results is its own kind of hard. Cura has a plain-language guide to what the wait actually means — and what to do while you wait.
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