GemCis Chemo after radical cystectomy

Tony W 28 days ago

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Good morning all, after 2 surgeries I had my bladder and prostate removed on March the 18th.

It took 9 weeks to get my lab results back following the op, and my urologist had told me that they detected cancer in 4 of the 16 lymph nodes they removed.

Ive been referred to oncology, and they have told me they will be starting me on GemCis chemotherapy, 6 cycles.

Apparently the cancer marker required to start immunotherapy was negative, which I am assuming is good?

Its been a long road for me, first symptoms showed in December 2024 but the cancer wasn't detected until August 2025, was treated for a kidney stone for the first 6 months!

I was just wondering whether I should be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel following chemo - life has been on hold since diagnosis last year.

Latestart 28 days ago

Hi Tony W,

Welcome to the group. I was treated for bladder cancer in 2022/3 but had my chemo before the op as they knew from the start it was bc and these days the do chemo first. Others on here may have done it the other way round like you. One advantage I can see for chemo second is that you aren't so exhausted before the op. I found 4 cycles of Gem/Cis very draining and was still very weak before going into hospital. Even then, I recuperated quickly and apart from thinning hair and weight loss didn't have many problems with the chemo either - constipation and a rash that improved after they rejigged the doses were perhaps the main ones.

I have now been clear for over 3 years and got back to a fairly normal life as soon as I regained my strength.

So yes, I would say there is light ahead though we are all different. In my case I keep walking daily do pilates (excellent to strengthen abdominal muscles after the bladder removal) and generally forget about being treated for cancer most of the time.

All the best

Larestart

Ps I had a short course of immunotherapy after the op as some of the cancer was aggressive. We hope it has helped too.

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