People with bladder cancer and their families are naturally concerned about recovery from cancer and their outlook for the future. Sometimes people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of being cured. It is important to remember, however, that statistics are averages based on large numbers of patients. They cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular patient because no two patients are alike; treatments and responses vary greatly. The patient's doctor is in the best position to discuss the issue of prognosis, or chance of recovery.

When doctors talk about surviving cancer, they may use the term remission rather than cure. Although many cancer patients are cured, doctors use this term because cancer can return. (The return of cancer is called a recurrence.) Superficial bladder cancer tends to recur as an another superficial cancer in the bladder. The disease can also recur in the bladder muscle or elsewhere in the body. Therefore, people who have had bladder cancer may wish to discuss the possibility of recurrence with the doctor.