New - bladder polylp - terrified

Hi Maw86 and welcome to the group. The not knowing and uncertainty can be very stressful and sends the mind in to overdrive. If it does turn out to be bladder cancer, then we know bladder cancer can be treated successfully and many here can tell the tale. Please try and stay away from Google. There is a lot of misleading and out of date information out there. When you have your flexible cystoscopy (camera) you will know a lot more. The procedure is a little uncomfortable but generally painless. You will be able to see on screen what is going on. They will then take it from there. I hope all goes well. Feel free to ask any questions, lots of experience here. Best wishes.

Thank you for your reply! I’m only 36 and feel shouldn’t have to deal with this yet! Not that any body should have to!! Doctors have given me diazepam to see me through as I’ve been a complete mess! Sadly I’m not an optimistic person! People have said it’s good that been found or it’s good that it’s small…but I just see past that and see bad things!! :( 

Bladder polyps are either cancerous or benign. You will know more after your cystoscopy. We are all in the same position. Waiting for test results, not knowing what comes next. Find a way to get through the waiting - take a long weekend off, visit family, buy yourself something nice. If your hospital has a Maggies centre, pop in & talk to them. They are staffed by lovely people who will support you. It's a nice peaceful buidling, where you can talk to staff or be left alone in a corner with no pressure. My wife used to go there to cry while I was having treatment.

You are very lucky that it's been found so early. Please be thankful for that.

I’ve not come across many stories at all where anything on the bladder has been benign :( does the small size mean that if it is something that it is early? 

If it's a polyp, it can be benign or it can be cancerous. They may decide to chop out the polyp just to be sure, or they may take a wait & see approach. If you think about it, it's much harder for a cancer to grow through the bladder wall than to grow into empty space. Mine grew through the wall & was a big cauliflower inside my bladder. So yes, the small size would tell me it's early, very early. As most people go to the doc when something is very wrong. (Blood in pee for instance). Get to Maggies if you can.

I’m so scared and all this waiting is awful :( I’m trying to keep hope in sense that I have no symptoms currently..never even had a UTI ..but my mind goes off in all the wrong directions. Struggling bad mental health wise :( 

Hi Maw86, a tale of my husband's history for your interest, although everybody's body is different.

Years and years ago, we can't even remember how many, he was getting up in the night too much and got sent to the hospital where we used to live. They booked him in without really saying what it was and life was very busy with older kids, work, elderly parents etc. We really didn't think much about it. He came round from a GA in agony with a catheter and bright red blood in the bag. They insisted on discharging him in a right state, all they said was he had had ""seaweed like growths" and there had been more of them than they had thought. It never occurred to us this could be cancer in the slightest but I now believe it must have been. It all settled down after a few days and the only follow up was for six monthly flow tests by a nurse. He missed one of those accidentally and never heard another word from them.

Life moved on, we retired and moved over 100 miles at the same time as first grandchild was on the way and we promised childcare. Soon the getting up at night again reached nuisance level, driving him to new GP. After a few months delay caused by private hosp messing about with NHS patients, he gets to see the whole inside of his bladder "like inside out cauliflower" This was G3Pta and several TURBTS, 6 BCG and a few Mitomycin later he has been down to 3 or 6 monthly checks for years now.

So unless your single one has acted very unusually you are in a much better place than many and it still need not be drastic. Your ovarian scan has really done you a big favour I would say.

So do try to  follow Coojee's advice to distract yourself and save stressing for only when  and if you are told something that actually deserves it. 

Best wishes, 

Denby

Thank you and I hope your husband is doing well now! I’m worried if it’s changed since the scan, grown…I’m worried that does behave unusual ..I’m trying to distract myself but every morning I wake and remember what’s happening and my heart pounds and  Stomach turns :( 

Maw86.

My philosophy has always been that if you have no control over something, what is the point of worrying?

I have cancer that is not possible to remove, owing to age, bad heart and dodgy lungs. I just go to the hospital several times a year to have bits sliced off. A very basic description, but you get the gist. I don't even think about it at all. And I certainly don't worry.

I wish I was stronger :( I’m just so scared