Surprise phone call this morning offering Fri 2 Sep.
So this time next week my RC & neobladder should be well under way. I feel as ready as could be, but I'm sure there will surprises to come. It will certainly be a novel experience & probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
Looking forward to visiting our new granddaughter in Japan next Spring.
Final pre-op clinic appt Thurs 18.
Long wait & boss still held up when I was called in as a Fellow came in - asked about the patient experience so far. The ideal opportunity to praise the attention while there, but point out the stress of waiting at each stage, being misled about timescales etc. Registrar came in as well & got a brief resume!
CT & biopsy clear (effectively a 3 month check up) so all options…
Now that the consultant & specialist nurse are back from their hols (whereas I had to cancel mine) I rang to speak to the nurse on Monday. Yes, I've been discussed at the MDT last week, but the consultant has to look at the notes (after clinic on Tues) & set priority order for clinic appointments. Can't say which day it will be.
Today (Thurs) still no contact. Rang the clinic - no appointment date set…
Doesn't time move slowly sometimes.
I've now tried the pre-op stoma pack, talked to two patients & done more research. Everyone seems happy with their chosen op, but of course haven't been able to try the other to compare. Neither feels quite right for me.
Most seem to have had to have urgent surgery - my process feels immensely drawn out. I'm concious that it's now 3 months since the initial tumour…
Back to see the consultant today. Made the choice for surgery but now I have to choose stoma or orthotopic bladder. I had thought stoma, but he made the bladder substitute sound more appealing than I'd thought.However, if I want the latter, I need to have another biopsy, this time of the bladder/urethra area to check it's healthy.
A long chat with the consultant, followed by a session with a specialist nurse…
