A number of x-ray pictures are taken of the pelvis and fed into a computer to form a detailed picture of the inside of the body. You will be given a special liquid to drink a few hours before your test and again in the x-ray department. This liquid shows up on x-ray and ensures that a clear picture is obtained. Once you are lying comfortably on the couch the scan can be taken. The scan itself is painless, but it will mean you having to lie still for 10-30 minutes.
Most people are able to go home as soon as their scan is over.
The CT scan is painless but takes up to 30 minutes . A radioisotope scan may be done for some tumours, to see if any cancer cells have spread beyond the bladder and into the bones. For this test a tiny amount of a radioactive dye is injected into a vein, usually in the arm, and a scan is taken of the whole body by a machine which measures minute amounts of radioactivity. The doctor can tell if the cancer cells have spread into the bone, as a larger amount of radioactivity is found in areas of bone affected by cancer cells. After the dye has been injected you will have to wait for about an hour before having the scan, so you may want to take a magazine or book with you to pass the time.