Low Grade Bladder Cancer

Hi and welcome to the group. Good news to hear of your all clear. We are very familiar with the red patches, they are very common. It is difficult to distinguish the difference from new growths or just inflammation, which is why they do the biopsies to check. Once you have had a cancer diagnosis, it is hard to get it out of your mind, even though it has been cleared. We tend to lose confidence in our bodies and think twice about every random ache or pain. These feelings do tend to fade as time goes by, but we never forget. The positive side of things is that because bladder cancer has a high rate of recurrence, they look after us and we have regular follow up checks, in some cases for many years, which is reassuring. Best wishes.

Thanks for that Rily, it's good to know i'm not the only one feeling like this, so thanks for the reassurance. As you say, it's good to know we're regularly reviewed, being in the system is both a comfort and a worry at the same time, but i'd rather be in the system than on the outside burying my head in the sand. The care i've received has been first rate, particularly considering everything which went on last year, so i can't fault the NHS on that front at all.  

Hi BusterB,It’s good to hear that you have had good care from the NHS.Have you tried writing down how you feel about cancer ? My experience was probably different from others here as I had pre cancerous changes for 14 years before cancer.Because I always knew there was a good chance I would get cancer it wasn’t that much of a shock when I did.I found it much tougher mentally after the surgery during the slow recovery.Because I was relatively idle then it was much harder not to think about what I had just been through.I’m coping much better mentally now as I’m keeping occupied with small jobs.At the moment I’m doing up some tatty garden furniture.I find having plenty of interests helps,especially during the pandemic.I’m sure with time cancer won’t dominate your thoughts as much.At the beginning it is all a bit much with tests,waiting for results,treatment etc cancer tends to take over.Best wishes Jane

Strangely, during treatment I didn't have as many worries as I do now, I guess because I was actually going through it, I had things to concentrate on, next test, appoitment, procedure etc. I also continued working throughout so my mind remained active that way too. Getting back to fitness has proved tricky because going for a run causes pain, as does cycling and they were my main routes to fitness, i have Type 2 Diabetes as well so it's important from that perspective to keep my activity levels up and this held me back recently. I'm now continuing to get my fitness back and managing any discomfort, I've also changed my diet to help keep the bladder as calm as possible, removing some known irritants so hopefully all these things will help. My struggle is focus, be it on work or long term plans, I'd like to retire and concentrate on me and my family but I'm not in a position to do that, so I need to find a way to get my motivation back and find something else to focus on there. My company have been supportive, which is great, but the job is the job at the end of the day and i don't really want to walk away from it, albeit that this is what i feel like doing right now. I will try writing things down, I have used that in the past when work worries have kept me awake at night and it does seem to help, so I'll give that ago. Thanks for your support and suggestions Jane, Best wishes, Andy

So glad you had good news x  it does seem to change your outlook when a cancer diagnosis is found .. I get times of being really positive then I just get so anxious about everything I imagine any little ache or pain is cancer .. I have just finished my first 6week course of bcg treatment for cis and thought I would be feeling great but I feel i am not dealing with things very well at times .. I think my mother passing away 6 weeks hasn't helped my situation... good luck for the future  

I'm sorry to hear about your mother passing, that is bound to affect your mood and that on top of cancer, it's no wonder you have good days and bad days. Well done getting through your treatment, give yourself some time to start feeling better again, it won't be instant. I've only been on this forum for a day and already i'm finding it useful, I hope you find some useful advice here too. Good luck to you too. 

Thank you  I have found this forum a big help .. sorry to be miserable  just been for a lovely walk with the dog so feel much better I think getting out and about always helps take care 

 I struggle with focus sometimes.It’s hard when you don’t feel as well or are in pain.I need to improve my fitness level.It’s a good idea to avoid food/drink that aggravate the bladder.I found anything citrus,onions and tomatoes were the worst when I had a bladder.I’m glad you are finding the group useful.Best wishes Jane 

Absolutely no need to apologise, its good to talk and share, I'm finding out. Getting outside in brighter warmer days is very uplifting too. All the best.

Thanks for the tips Jane, I'll see if I can pin down foods which aggravate although it seems to be the exercise itself that causes the flare ups.