OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate the rate of severe acute toxicity occurring during therapy with accelerated external radiotherapy with concurrent fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin following transurethral resection of the bladder in patients with stage II or III muscle invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. II. Evaluate the rate of freedom from local recurrence to this combined therapy assessed 3 months after the end of treatment in these patients. III. Assess the feasibility of this new therapeutic approach in this patient population. IV. Determine the overall recurrent free survival, long term side effects, and overall survival in these patients.