Am I in the right place?

Good Morning ansteynomad and welcome to the  group, and yes this is the right place. We all know how scary a potential cancer diagnosis can be, but be aware that bladder cancer can be treated successfully and we have many here to tell the tale. The earlier it is found, the better. Blood in urine which is invisible to the naked eye (haematuria) is difficult to spot so well done to your GP.

A flexible cystoscopy is done under local anaesthetic. Generally painless but can be a little uncomfortable, especially as the camera goes in Takes about 15 minutes. Your husband will be able to see the inside of his bladder on screen. Any abnormalities will be pointed out. If anything is there, they will not be able to confirm cancer, but will give a good idea.

The next step would be to remove it under general anaesthetic, but I don't want to get too far ahead as it may not be cancer.

In the meantime, keep away from Google. Lots of out of date misinformation on there. Make sure your husband drinks plenty of water during the day to flush any blood and debris out. Feel free to ask any questions, there will usually be someone here with an answer. Best wishes.

Hi, another welcome. It may be that he will end up having both ultrasound & cystoscopy at some point - they like to do enough tests to be sure of diagnosis & nothing missed. In term sof leaving things too late, I think we all worry about that. I had BC that with hindsight, had been there at least 3 - 4 months before diagnosis. If it is BC, that is often very treatable. I had high grade, but superficial - still here 9 years later.

Hopefully won't be too long before you know what you're dealing with & have a treatment plan. Feel free to ask any questions here - or just drop in for a chat.

Thanks both. The paperwork has come through for flexible cystoscopy in the Haematuria Clinic. So far so good. Results will be sent to the GP, so it looks like the GP, rather than Urology, is still running the show. 

He thinks he will be fine to drive himself back from the hospital. Will he?

i wonder what happens now about the raised PSA? Does that get considered as part of the process or will they come back to it later?

I’m getting information from him in dribs and drabs. I wish he’d said he was having these symptoms a year ago rather than leaving it. He says his pain is between 5 and 7 out of 10, which doesn’t sound good to me.

Hi ansteynomad. They will give him some information on the day, but usually PSA is not involved. I have never had a problem driving and I have had over 20 flexible cystoscopies. He may like to keep a bottle in the car for the way home as you sometimes get the urgent need to pee. It will sting a bit when having a wee for a few days, but it gets better. Hope all goes well. Best wishes.

Welcome ansteynomad, I always drive myself 20 miles to and from flexible cystoscopies no worries. Luckily there are lots of different kinds of treatment for bladder cancer. After the flexible cystoscopy he will be able to see what is going on in his bladder and the doctor usually explains what they can see, but cancer can only be confirmed and staged by a biopsy which might be the next step as Rily described. I totally understand why you are anxious but I've found it's better to save my energy until I know what I'm dealing with. We all always imagine the worst and it might not be.x

I was able to drive myself after flex cysto too. Will you be with him for company/support, or is the type (like me) that would prefer to absorb any news solo before sharing with family? The hosp will send a report back to the GP as a courtesy in response to the referral. But it should be copied to the patient (worth asking to check) & any follow up tests/appointments necessary arranged via the hosp, unless they draw a blank & referral to a different clinic is needed. 

I was extremely lucky in that my referral was to gynae, but when I attended it was soon apparent that it was a bladder problem instead, the gynae consultant arranged for flexi cysto & transfer to urology to be done there & then. They did give me a preliminary diagnosis of BC, with biopsy under general anaesthetic to follow. 

I'm not actually particularly anxious. Just trying to figure out what is happening.  He thought he might have a prostate problem and suddenly it seems he might have a bladder problem.  It's confusing.

I can deliver him to the hospital, but I cannot collect him.  I cannot drive in the dark until I get my cataracts fixed! If everyone's experience is that it's fine for him to drive then that's good. I'll let him get on with it.  Of course, he has to go alone because of COVID.

Thanks for the tip about the bottle :-)

The implication from the letter is that he will have to get the results from the GP, which I suspect will mean waiting over Christmas. Oh joy!

Thank you for all your support.

Hi, ansteynomad, As well as the have-a-bottle-handy tip, it is always a good idea to drink plenty to ensure max flushing out of the bladder. My old GP recommended Robinson's Lemon Barley as being ideal because it discourages any germs from causing infections. If you drink plenty, the pee is less concentrated and will sting less. As Mr D. had also had several infections before getting his bc diagnosis, I also give him cranberry tablets daily. Always check with your pharmacist before starting any herbal medicines etc. I have to say that for Mr.D the urgency was occasionally so great we put some plastic and a towel over the car seat in case.

Hope you don't have too long to wait for your cataract op. Mr D's were very successful. And best wishes to your OH.

Denby

Thanks for this. I have added Lemon Barley to my shopping list :-) 

The hospital phoned this morning to make sure he was still going on Thursday.

I'm sorry. I thought I'd updated at the beginning of the week.  The cystoscopy was clear and he got back from the hospital without incident.  They could find no cause for the bleeding.  I suppose this is good news, although I am unsure how they would  be able to see clearly when they cut him on the way in and he was bleeding from that.  It took him from Thursday afternoon to Monday to really get over the procedure in terms of bleeding and pain, but that seems to be OK now.

We move forward with an abdominal ultrasound and a kidney x-ray on 30 December. In the meantime, he seems to be  in obvious discomfort and very tired, so I'm still concerned.

Thank you all again for your support.  Have the best Christmas you can in these strange times.