Dad diagnosed bladder cancer

Good afternoon Holly and welcome to the forum. You will find lots of support and help on here as we all have experienced the diagnosis of bladder cancer. I haven’t any experience of chemotherapy as I followed a different route but there will be someone with the knowledge who will be able to give you more information, with best wishes to you and your Dad, John.

Hi Holly, and a welcome from me too, although sorry to hear about dad. We know how upsetting it must be for you. I had Gem/Cis which is a  very similar regimen to MVAC. Both are based around the main drug Cisplatin. Both work and are administered in the same way. My cancer was also advanced, but no lymph node involvement in my case. As well as working on the bladder, the drugs are designed to mop up any rogue cells floating around the body. Always difficult to predict how people react to chemo. Some people struggle while others sail through it. I didn't find it too bad and was never sick. The main side effect of any chemo is tiredness, so don't be too alarmed if dad drops of to sleep now and again. Following treatment, dad will have a few weeks rest and then be assessed as to how the treatment has worked. They will then decide on the next step. I hope all goes well. Best wishes

Hi Holly sorry to hear about dad and hope his treatment is not too bad for him x can I ask how long he had to wait for results...x

I had gem/cis & the gem bit hurt my veins. The aim is to shrink the tumour as much as possible & catch any cells floating around. After the chemo, they will probably start talking about surgery. Make sure you understand all available options. Good luck its a rollercoaster. Work on mental strength & look at diet. Pm me if you like.

Hey, he had to wait around 15 days from his turbt op to actually getting his results xx

Hiya, thank you all for replying. He has now had his second round, tiredness is worse after round 2 and his hair has now began to fall out. Bizarrely he had really bad hiccups after each round initially which then gradually go but he said they are quite annoying haha. Also heartburn but his consultant prescribed him omeprazole which seems to be helping. Xxxx

I had gemcis before undergoing surgery. The sideffects were not too bad, just a bit of nausea the following morning. Fatigue is common and usually creeps up on you after the first session. The last treatment did knock my liver function for six, but went back to normal about two to three days later.