Hello. I am new here. My mum has been diagnosed with muscle invasive bladder cancer her only treatment being removal of bladder and a stoma put in. mum is 80. Mum has yet to make a decision on whether she wants the surgery as she is focusing so much on all what could go wrong which is a lot
Is there anyone who has had the surgery who can offer some insight on recovery , living with a stoma etc.
I was 70 when I had my bladder removed after several months of chemotherapy. The straight answer to your question is that it all depends on how fit your mother is.
I was very fit for my age at 69 when diagnosed and coped fairly well with the operation. In many ways the chemo was hardest as it takes a lot out of one. These days they don't make a big incision as the op is usually robot assisted - I had 5 small incisions which quickly healed. But it was a 5 hour op and they say it is equivalent to running a marathon.
My hospital had a preop full day meeting for us patients that included an exercise bike test during which they discovered that I had Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heart beat). Not sure where that came from - could have been the chemo or even Covid. They put me on blood thinners and I did have the op.
Do things go wrong during operations? Yes sometimes. Apparently I had a complication, not heart-related but came out OK.
Post op recovery was fairly rapid. I restarted walking around the ward and kept it up every day at home. I'm now 73 (click on my name to see bio) zctive and very pleased that I had the operation. The stoma is no big deal, you are taught to clean it and how to cope with bags. I often say that anyone who knows how to change a nappy can deal with a stoma and bags. You learn the technique and there are local stoma nurses to help when you go back home.
If I were your mother's age I would want to know how the doctors see things, my husband would be asking about years of useful life likely after the op (just like he did at the time). I have seen others on here who are late 70s or early 80s and have had the operation.
And of course nobody knows how long any of us will live.
The other question is what would her life be like without the operation. I watched my mother die aged 63 of untreated bladder cancer that she ignored until too late. It was hard, although that was a long time ago and palliative treatment has come on a lot.
The best people to discuss what could go wrong is with the consultant.
Its good to hear of a positive outcome. Mum will have hurdles to climb as she is also needing a hip op which has been postponed due to the cancer which means her mobility is poor at the moment so another thing to get through. lots to think about
Hip operations are tough too. I had mine 10 years ago but recovered well (only 63 at the time).
I hope things go well for your mother and that she is able to keep moving. For either op, let alone ordinary life, being able to move is very important for mood, circulation and retaining muscle tone.
