Bladder cancer

Hello Christine and welcome to the group and we know how you must be feeling at the moment. The early days of not knowing and uncertainty can be the worst, but be aware, bladder cancer can be treated successfully. Usually the first test is a camera in to the bladder for a visual inspection. When you have your phone call tomorrow you will know more, and the more you know, the more we will be able to support you through it. Feel free to ask anything as many of us here have been through this. Best wishes.

Dear Christine, I was in your position ( albeit without any pain or indication than blood in Urine). The first thing to say is that bladder cancer is very treatable in a lot of cases. My own tumour was large 4cm + but thankfully confined to the innermost layer only. It was graded at G2pTa - these numbers will become clear as you progress through your treatment. My first op ( TURBT) was in Feb 24, after which I had Mitomycin C chemo - this is introduced directly into the bladder and held for 1 hour. Once a week for 6 weeks. My next cystoscopy showed a very small recurrence which was removed in Sept 24. As the grade was low risk G2pTa no further chemo was recommended and my next cystoscopy in Dec 24 showed no suspicious areas. So I was pretty hopeful that maybe it was gone but unfortunately there was another small recurrence seen in my March cystoscopy which was removed one again (TURBT #3). Since then I have had the BCG immunotherapy induction course and my cystoscopy to see if this has worked is tomorrow. 

So the takeaways are - most bladder cancer are treatable but many unfortunately recurr and the surgeons/oncologists play whack a mole with them until hopefully they stop. The chemo & immunotherapy treatments are directly in the bladder and thus have less (for most) side effects than regular chemo. Even if ultimately you have to have your bladder removed there are a lot of folks on this forum who can reassure you that this isn't quite the horror you might expect.

It's a process,  so buckle up and let the experts guide you through it. For what it's worth I was terrified when first diagnosed and it took me many months to calm down but I did. One piece of good advice from the forum folks was - thoughts are not facts. And I'll add - the past and the future exist solely in the mind,  I am now.

Hi Christine,Welcome to our friendly group.I hope you will find it helpful and supportive.It is natural to feel scared but we are on hand to answer questions and guide you through along with the experts.Once you know more it won’t seem as frightening and you can concentrate on getting treatment.Best wishes Jane

Fingers crossed for you tomorrow Bicyclegirl. Keep us posted H xx

Thanks, been a bad couple of weeks with my beloved brother dying on the 8th. He was only 62 and died less than 18 months from being diagnosed with MND. I'm determined to honour him by making the most of the chances I have, he had no chance unfortunately.