Hello everyone, nice to meet you all.
My name is Paula and I’m a 62 year old lady and live alone with my two little dogs. We three are my only family now as I lost my lovely mum nearly 5 years ago and we were the only ones left of our family. We were very close and of course though I miss mum and dad every single day, now I’m faced with something I truly wasn’t expecting, it’s added another dimension to the news I’ve had this week.
i had been experiencing frequency and urgency for a while and put that down to ageing. Then blood in urine, clots, sediment and some floating skin like debris, tiny but evident. I’m a retired nurse and had some home dipsticks so tested and was pretty certain I didn’t have a UTI. I got a GP appointment and was put in the fast track for urology and had my CT with contrast last Sunday and then Thursday this week I had cystoscopy. The cystoscopy was very quick ( apart from some jiggery pokery trying to get the scope in ( trust me to be difficult ), and no chance unfortunately to ask the questions that immediately sprang to mind.
All I know at the moment is that the Dr said he had the CT result and they were fine other than some endometrial thickening had shown up. He asked if that had ben noted before which I said it had not. He said he would refer me for TVU to have it checked out. He then proceeded to cystoscopy and I thought he said the word tumour to the nurse. Whilst I was trying to eavesdrop, still during the scope, he looked at me and said, you have a tumour. I think he said small but I really can’t recall now, all a bit of a blur really. He took the scope out, had a chat with the nurse about where it was but I didn’t really hear that either. The care assistant was helping me up and I sat with the doctor who said to me, I would be going for TURBT and the nurse gave me a leave to and told me it would be under day case general anaesthetic but be prepared to stay overnight just in case. My main thought was panic for my little dogs. They have never ever been left, I even had to give up work after mum died as they suffer terrible separation anxiety and with no family, I’ve very few people who can help me.
I just asked the doctor as he was writing, do you have any idea of cause, he said no, I had nine of the risk factors other than being a female over 60 and even then, nothing. He then said, ‘ what I will say is of all the bladder tumours you could have, you have chosen the best one ‘.
I had a 35 mile drive home and have been researching ever since. Worrying myself silly and wondering what in earth I can do so my dogs are cared for when I’m not here. Would you believe, as a nurse, I never worked in urology so that’s not been helpful at all and I consider myself a real novice compared to all of you here.
Since Thursdays appointment, I’ve had a call booking me for pre assessment on 31st July but not a surgery date yet. I realise I won’t know anything more until after pathology reports are back but I was wondering, has anyone else been in the same place where you had to have this surgery and maybe lots of procedure after and yet live alone with no family of friends to help? If so, how did you manage? Do you have any tips or insights you are able and willing to share? Most grateful for all replies and many thanks for taking time to read a rather long post. Paula,
Hi PaulaE and welcome this friendly and supportive group. Your story will be familiar to many of us. Firstly, be aware that BC can be treated successfully and many of us have been through it. As you say, a TURBT can be completed in day surgery but there may be a need for a overnight. You would not know beforehand. Do you know anyone who could look after your dogs for a day or two or would you be able to put them in kennels? Lots of help here and usually someone to answer any questions as you go forward. Best wishes.
Thank you so much for your kind reply, Rily. I really appreciate it.
There are so many unknowns at the moment of course and I was a bit confused and surprised at my reading as it felt to me like once one had bladder cancer it was never really curable and always comes back at some point but I guess I’ll learn more as I go and certainly by being part of this lovely group of people.
My little dogs are both getting on now and one quite frail ( 14 and 11 ) so they are best being in the house they know of course. I have one friend who has said she will come and stay overnight with them if she can but she is due to go away on holiday soon and of course, I don’t know the date as yet for my surgery. She is my hope really and although they do not need to be walked for that short time, they do take some looking after with their little routines as you might imagine. They have certainly kept me busy over the years for which I’ve been very grateful.
Thanks again Rily for your kindness. 
Hi again Paula. When I was declared free of MIBC 12 years ago, I bought a puppy. The idea was to keep me fit and active. Over the years we have walked and run hundreds of miles. Sadly she is now 12 years old which is good for a big dog. She is struggling to walk far, so neither of us are getting much exercise. As for you, it is early days of uncertainty and not knowing. If it is confirmed you have BC, a plan will be put in place and you have your dogs too help you along the way. Best wishes.
Hi Paula. A TURBT is the main diagnosis for BC. Any abnormal looking cells will be scraped away and samples sent for analysis. If confirmed as BC, all the bits of the jigsaw will be put together and a treatment plan will be put in place. This then gves you something positive to focus on. One step at a time is the way to go.
