As with many types of bladder conditions, bladder cancer is not something that should be taken lightly.

Bladder cancer is not only one of the most common forms of cancer diagnosed among men and women — nearly four times more often in men — but it also has one of the highest rates of recurrence, meaning that it’s likely to come back after it’s been removed. This makes the need for accurate diagnostic exams like cystoscopies that much more critical.

A cystoscopy allows physicians to view the inside of the bladder using a thin instrument tipped with a tiny camera and light that’s passed through the urethra into the bladder, where an early-stage bladder cancer called non-muscle invasive cancer can be found.

A cystoscopy is one of the best ways to look for these types of cancers because they usually develop on the inner tissue. In the standard cystoscopy exam, a white light is used to view the inside of the bladder and spot tumors. However, where larger cancerous areas may be visible using white light, smaller tumors may be overlooked because they appear the same as surrounding healthy tissue.

There’s now an advanced cystoscopy available that dramatically improves the detection of early-stage bladder cancers over the standard white light exams. It’s called a Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview, allowing doctors to use a cystoscope equipped with both white and blue light and administer an imaging solution that is absorbed by cancer cells and makes them “glow” bright pink under the blue light.

With this level of enhanced diagnostics — such as the Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview available at Tanner — urologists can pinpoint tumors and remove them completely with much more accuracy. Tanner is the only provider in west Georgia and east Alabama offering this advanced screening.

To learn more about Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview available at Tanner, visit tanner.org/bluelight or call 678-661-2813 to schedule an appointment with a urology specialist at Tanner.