Uplifting stuff please

All very familiar, fear of the unknown, the uncertainty & worry. Things may not move as quickly as you'd like, nor as fast as you feel they should. That can actually be good news sometimes, as they do try to prioritise the more urgent cases.

No problem being here a lot - BC has become your world for the moment. Eventually you will find that you can move back into a new normal.

Thank you. 

Hi zxcv, whatever you are dealing with, you will get out of it better if you are in a really good state of general health. So you could direct your energy at the moment to reviewing what you eat and drink, how you exercise and how much you sleep. The sleep's really important, according to my old holistic dentist. If you have trouble settling, try lavender  under your pillow. Organic food contains better levels of nutrients if you can afford it. Many modern diets do not provide great levels of vitamins and minerals needed for health.

As long as you don't over-obsess,  working on health and fitness also helps you feel more in control and should prevent later "if-only"s. And while you're out on those healthy walks, you can't be hunched over a computer reading statistics. It really is best to just not read them if you can stop yourself. 

Here's an experience to ponder on: Mr D had a load of 'growths' [doctors words] removed about ten years ago when we lived down south. No follow up at all and no mention it could be cancer, never gave it a thought picking up on that hospital's blasé attitude. When peeing too often at night got too annoying after we moved, the new GP got him into the cancer check system but there were still delays [long story]. But despite all that, after a succession of treatments, he has the all clear for now with a 6 month gap to next checkup. Still leading as normal a life as lockdown allows any of us to do, and able to dig potato trenches in heavy clay etc in his mid 70s.You might or might not think it is uplifting but it is to me when I see him larking about with our little grandson.

Best, Denby

Thanks very much. This is good advice, and what i need. I fo find what you said very uplifting. Thanks.

I think we were all the same as you xxcv, looking for answers online when there weren't any really until we knew what we were up against.  It does indeed take time, & this thing's a waiting game unfortunately.  I'm not sure how true it is but I heard that they will be dealing with new patients first.  Plus I think it can depend on your area, nice part of the world you live in by the way.  

You can come here as much as you like, whatever helps.  The more I read on here the more comfortable I felt, although some things you may not want to hear.  But it really helped me knowing that so many people were going through exactly what I was going through too.  

There's an elderly man who lives by me & he's had bladder cancer for about 25 years, they just check him once a year, remove anything that shouldn't be there & he's fine.  That made me feel good & gave me hope.  FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.

Hello zxcv

Mrs CB is a data analyst so when we got my diagnosis, she checked all the then data about survival rates for 62 year old men, as I was then. We were told that with my stage of bladder cancer, if I had a cystectomy I could expect an 80% chance of survival to five years; if I had chemo as well, that would improve my survival rate by another 5%. So I had the full treatment.

When you consider 62 year old healthy men, they have an 85% chance of survival to 5 years. This means that after treatment, my life chances are the same as healthy men my age. The statistics show also that no analysis of bladder cancer survival rates has been done beyond five years.

I am now in year 4 of survival, Rily is in year 7 if memory serves correctly and there are many, many more who have survived for decades after bladder cancer.

I deduce therefore, that the statistics are at best misleading, and at worst, just not worth looking at. That goes for Dr Google as well.

I conclude that, although none of us are going to get out of this life alive (as said Clive James), this is not our moment and, as my oncologist said when I asked him if I was going to die, 'Yes but not yet, something else will get you.'

CB

Thank you very much. Very much appreciated. Alrhough my replies are short i read in detail several times. Thank you xx

Just hang on in there it's difficult You are at the worse possible point at least thats was what Mr W and I felt in your place June 2016 

However he is CANCER free as his last letter following a biopsy of a red patch said 

Take care love and best wishes

Wilbertxx

I have recurrent bladder cancer & I'm doing pretty well as I'm in my 8th year now, for the first few years I imagined some sort of miracle was happening.  Of course I dread the operations & tend to get quite low, but my God it's worth it for the highs!   

Hi Blanket

i was just wondering why some people have recurring bladder cancer and why surgeons would not suggest cystectomy. Or is it patient  choice if they could refuse to have their bladder removed if they could just keep an eye on them and remove tumours as and when they reoccur?