Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms and look at your medical history to see what illnesses you have had in the past. S/he may also examine you to see if there are any lumps in your abdomen.

S/he may then send you to see a specialist doctor (a urologist) at a nearby hospital. There are NHS cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who may need to see a specialist, and how quickly.

At hospital you are likely to have some of these tests:

Ultrasound scan
This test uses sound waves to build a picture of the inside of the body. You lie on your back while a device like a microphone is passed over your abdomen. The sound waves make pictures of your kidneys and internal organs on a computer screen.

Intravenous urogram (IVU)
This is an X-ray of the kidneys, ureters and bladder. To make the picture clearer, a liquid called contrast medium is injected into a vein before the X-ray is taken.

Computerised tomography (CT or CAT scan)
This is a type of X-ray that creates a picture of the inside of the body. You lie on a couch while it passes through a large hollow ring.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MR or MRI scan)
This is like a CT scan but it uses a magnet and radio waves, not X-rays, to make the picture. You lie still on a couch inside a long chamber while the pictures are taken.