Hi
I'm at a loss and totally naive. My mother has been told she has bladder cancer. I have spent the last year backwards and forwards to doctors saying something is wrong and only a month ago did they start referring her and doing tests. Our heads are all over the place and I've been told she has in excess of 3cm tumour, needs it removed and will be catheterised. All of a sudden after not being able to get doctors appointments for 3 weeks, we can now get one within 20 minutes of making a call. That in itself is worrying. Mums operation is booked for 15th july but that is all we know at the moment. What should we expect next?
Hi and another welcome to the group. As Mo600 says, this is a good place for support. Your mother's story is not uncommon in being late with a referral. There are awareness groups trying to highlight this. Your mum's operation is called a TURBT (trans urethral resection of bladder tumour). A standard and usually routine procedure. It can be done in day surgery or an overnight stay. Time in hospital depends on how much they have to trim away. Mum will wake up with a catheter in and this stays in until the wound starts to heal and she can wee on her own. Usually taken out before leaving hospital, but some people need to keep it in longer. Once it is removed, your mum will have some slight discomfort for a few days when she has a wee. Generally just a sting feeling, but it passes. During the op, they will take biopsies for analysis. It will take a couple of weeks for the results, and these results determine what further action is necessary. Try not to Google as there is a lot of out of date and misinformation out there. I hope I have not overloaded you with too much information. Many of us have been there and have come through ok. Best wishes.
