Waiting is so hard...

Hi Felicity102 . Sorry to hear you have had so much going on. The days of uncertainty and not knowing can be worrying but BC can be treated successfully. A TURBT procedure is the main diagnostic tool for bladder cancer along with the various scans.. They may give you some information of what they find on the day but there will be a couple of weeks waiting for any confirmation. A TURBT is usually done in day surgery but prepare for an overnight just in case. I also have a small lung nodule but it hasn't changed in years. They just keep an eye on it . When you know exctly what is going on a plan is put in place you then have something positive to focus on. Lots of experiences here so feel free to ask anything. Best wishes.

Dear Felicity102,

Many of us here will recognise your situation. Waiting is hard, and so often results can take a while to come through - mainly because there aren't enough radiologists to interpret scans sooner.

The good thing is that the medics are taking it seriously and are doing a comprehensive set of tests. Also you will be seeing the Urologist again on Monday. 

I can empathise with feeling fit and yet being told you need to have widespread investigations. I always say I had never been fitter than the day I was diagnosed. 

However I urge you not to jump the gun. Until they finish their checks they can't tell you exactly what is going on. What you are seeing is the NHS checking you out for potential problems so if they need to treat you they know what to do first. It's what they always do. We often post here after diagnosis, but we don't all list the investigations that led us to that. It can be quite a process as you are discovering.

Please try not to imagine the worst. First of all you may be upsetting yourself unnecessarily and second it is a total waste of energy.

The real worst case would be if they weren't doing anything.

My advice is to stop Googling, wait until you talk to the Ugologist, ask him what he knows now and what he thinks later tests might show. Take someone with you and write everything down. Make him or her repeat what he says so you can assimilate it. 

Ask particularly what he thinks you need to do, how many cases like yours the hospital deals with annually and what the usual outcomes are. Ask him about a bigger hospital but moving might not be a good idea if the speciality you need is not treating as many patients with, say, bladder cancer or whatever you find you may need. As an older woman I usually ask what medics would advise their mother to do. It generally gets a good result (but can seem unfair to the medic).

I hope this helps. Whatever 'mess' you might be in there will be someone here who has faced it (and lived to tell the tale).

All the best,

Latestart

Hi Felicity102,Welcome to the group.This early stage of not knowing and waiting is what we all found hard.Once you have a clearer idea of what is happening it gets easier to cope with.There is a lot going on with all the tests and results but these will aid to diagnosis and a plan for treatment.Ask any questions here.We are all here to help and support you.Best wishes Jane 

Thank you for your reply. I've written your questions down. UCH is the bigger hospital and I know they have a specialist bladder cancer unit. 

Thank you. I do hope it gets easier because I really can't live with this level of stress.

Thank you rily - it's good to know you are here and that I'm not the only one with bladder cancer and a lung nodule. 

Yes, I was treated there, am still under ongoing review and have been happy with it.

They are very busy, receiving lots of complex referrals now so, eg, results from scans etc are taking longer to be reported.

I've learnt to be patient and trust the process. 

You may want to consider whether that angle would worry you. 

All the best,

Latestart