Cystectomy soon

Hello Now and a welcome to the group. You and your husband will get lots of support here as you go forward. I did not have RC so not much help, but I am sure others will be along soon to share experiences and offer advice. Best wishes.

Hi Now,Welcome to the group.Your husband will need to take in loose fitting clothes especially over the abdomen as this will probably be quite swollen post op.Slip on shoes/slippers will save bending.I was allowed to use my phone in ICU so a phone charger with a longer lead will be helpful if your husband has a mobile.If your husband is having an Ileal conduit then he will get help to care for it from the stoma nurses.Post op it’s best if you are able to shuffle/walk at least around the bed to try and get the bowels moving.Sugar free chewing gum will help to stimulate them.It’s normal to feel very tired following surgery and your husband may need a bit of help when he first comes home.I could manage my personal care but my sister stayed to fetch food and drink and be on hand to help me up the stairs if needed.Eating little but often is easiest.It’s important to listen to your body post op.If your husband needs to rest he must rest.Build up walking distances.Recovery can be slow but each week your husband should get stronger.I felt very much better after 3 months and by 8 months was able to return to caring full time for my disabled mother.I had my surgery in 2019 and am cancer free now.I live a full life with a stoma.Best wishes for your husband’s surgery.I hope it all goes smoothly.Love Jane xx

Thank you both so much for your replies. My husband is 52 and despite chemo dragging him down he is pretty active so I m hoping this will help. He is also having laparoscopic and robot assisted surgery. I guess that is the norm now?

we asked about any further treatment after the op and immunotherapy was mentioned as a possibility but not necessarily. Has anyone had any experience of this? 

Thank you again. 

Hi,It’s good that your husband is able to have a robotic assisted cystectomy.I had mine in Bristol which is centre of excellence for urology.You have a few incisions robotically but I was amazed at how quickly they healed and how fast the scars faded.Have you tried putting immunotherapy into the search box on here ? Love Jane x