Bladder cancer

I’m so sorry to hear this FloGlow.I hope the team can come up with some alternative treatment if your husband is not fit enough for cystectomy.My best wishes to you both.Jane x

Hello FloGlow, 4 weeks of radiotherapy will probably have left your husband feeling somewhat drained and tired. It is a quite common side effect of the treatment but he should gradually feel better as the weeks pass. Nevertheless, it can be a morale sapping period, not helped by the fact that the radiotherapy was unsuccessful. 

My tumour was large (7cm) but I don't know how solid it was. CT scans before and after 2 weeks medium dose radiotherapy showed that it was not muscle invasive. In my case, CT scans showed the radiotherapy had destroyed 95% of the tumour, leaving thick scar tissue which reduced bladder flexibility. This caused problems with bleeding around the remaining tumour, requiring many blood transfusions. Two TURBTs followed. These removed the remaining parts of the tumour and have largely eased the problem with bleeding although I do still have shorter duration problems with that quite often. I'm 75 - nearly 76 and have a heart problem which was discovered during a pre-op, hence the diversion to radiotherapy. The TURBTs were performed with increased risk, the first one as an emergency procedure. I'm mentioning this because at that stage the cancer had nearly got me. A palliative treatment regime followed. Chemo, BCG and bladder removal were all considered too risky but removal is still on the cards as a desperate measure. Further TURBTs are a more likely outcome as the tumour(s) are slowly growing back. However, this grim period was in late 2017 (radiotherapy) and 2018 (emergency TURBT, 2nd TURBT and sepsis). I'm still here, living independently (widowed) with my daughter visiting once a week to help with housework and my son calls to do the lawns. I still drive myself to A&E every three weeks or so when my Foley urethral catheter blocks. I carry out a regular flushing procedure but eventually the damned thing has to be replaced! Gone are the days when they lasted for the full 12 weeks.

The best advice I can offer for your husband is don't give up hope. Live day to day, meticulously searching for the positives that occur - even if it's simply that you had a good hour or two asleep and dreaming. My good wishes go out to you both and here's hoping that your medical team find a course of action which keeps you going.  Ray xx       

Thank you Ray for your kind and informative reply.  We are both trying to keep positive and I am intent on building him up  (he was very fit before the cancer and played golf three times a week) in the hope that, if necessary, he will be be fit enough to have the bladder removed.  

You have certainly been through stressful times and I will certainly not give up hope after your reply.

With best wishes x

Hi FloGlow,My tumour was solid and I was very unwell prior to the surgery but was able to have it so I hope this will be the case for your husband.Jane x