Linda Fineman, DVM, DACVIM (oncology)

Mistakes in practice are inevitable. It is what we do after making an error that can help foster—or dissuade—the culture of infallibility that permeates our profession.

Diagnosing transitional cell carcinoma can be a difficult clinical challenge. Clinical signs (pollakiuria, dysuria, stranguria, and hematuria) are nonspecific, and differential diagnoses include granulomatous cystitis, other neoplastic diseases (lymphoma, rhabdomyosarcoma), a persistent or recurrent urinary tract infection, and urinary calculi-the latter two of which may occur concurrently with transitional cell carcinoma.