Diagnosis of both bladder and prostate cancer

Hello Otley  A warm welcome to the online Prostate Community. I am so sorry to find you here but it's the place for help and advice.

I might be wrong but I can't think of any Community member on our forum with that diagnosis. (apologies if I have missed someone!).

I can fully understand your thinking with the separate treatment of the two cancers and I am on the Hormone Therapy journey myself. I am 2 years into a 3 year journey starting off with a Gleason 9 and Initial PSA of 182. Yes there are side effects, fatigue and ED being the hardest to overcome but there are others. You can read my journey by clicking on my avatar.

i am aware you have received a couple of replies on the bladder cancer forum - that's a good start.

To help us help you can I ask you to add your Prostate Cancer diagnosis (Gleason Score TNM staging) to your profile. To do this on your home page, go to the chair in the top right, then "profile" and then "edit".

Feel free to ask any questions.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Millibob, This is the first time I have been on an online community. I am deeply grateful for the replies I have had. I will take your advice on actually filling in my profile. I believe my Gleason score was 7. My PSA was 5.3 which lulled me into a false sense of security. The treatment options which I got yesterday came out of the blue. The doctor said removal of the bladder and prostate was the best option. One of the things I have to get my head around is having a Stoma fitted. I hope all goes well for you and thank you for getting in touch. It is greatly appreciated.

Wishing all the best. Someone in my neighbourhood had 2 lots of Cancer whoes wife told me he had bowel remove and got Storma and got part of his  pancreas removed and delighted to say he is doing great and all postive news

That's encouraging. Many thanks.

Hello Otley  We are all with you here whichever route you take. Our Community is amazing with a wealth of knowledge and whatever you want to know please just ask - you will get a fair amount of information back.

Keep us posted and my best wishes. - Brian

Hello Otley.

A warm welcome to the prostate group. I have attached a link to a Macmillan discussion group who might be able to help you with some questions on the stoma so that you can then make an informed decision. Once you have updated your profile then this group can help you with more targeted information on treatment and likely range of side effects which you can then add in for the decision making process. 

 Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma support 

Hi Alwayshope, Great name. I have updated my profile. I will follow the link you sent. I am very grateful. All the best. 

Hi Otley.

I have just checked out your profile and was wondering if you have been given a TNM ( tumour , node, metastasis) and Grade Group. This information would normally be given after a prostate biopsy and gives an indication of exactly where the cancer is, whether it is contained, and whether there is spread to lymph nodes or bones, along with how aggressive it can be. It is usually this information which dictates how long you would likely be on hormone therapy and the type of radiotherapy you are likely to be offered. Also, with your Gleason score do you know if it is 3 + 4 or 4 + 3?

On the stoma issue, I don't know if you have watched the latest series of 'Dancing on Ice' but there is a lady competing who has been treated for bowel cancer and has a stoma. She is a good advocate for living with one and not stopping her from doing challenging things.

One thing that we have all learnt is to try and stay positive and, of course, always hope.

• Hi Alwayshope, I will check my Gleason score. I understand the cancer is contained within the prostate. It does seem folk get on with life despite the stoma. Thanks for pointing out the lady on Dancing on Ice though I won't be joining her on the ice! I got the treatment options yesterday which was a bit of a shock. Today has been something of a downer but this online community has certainly raised my spirits. I do feel I am in good hands with the team treating me at Jimmy's so I am, deep down, pretty positive. Many thanks for your perspective.

Hi Otley.

I have been delving into having concomitant bladder and prostate cancer and hadn't realised how common it is. I have attached an article which you might find helpful. Most of us on here only know about the prostate side of things, even though we are not medically trained we have managed to glean information from each other. From what I have read your prostate cancer side of things will be monitored in the normal way via PSA tests once your initial treatment has been completed. From the stats you have supplied a prostatectomy may have been one of the options given so a question to ask is whether it would be nerve sparing (to try and limit possible ED) and whether any lymph nodes would be removed. The outcome from both prostatectomy or radiotherapy, particularly with Brachytherapy if possible, is very similar and would offer a curative pathway. Many men have the attitude that they just want to get the cancer out by surgery, others don't like the idea, it is a very personal decision. Having a prostatectomy gives you the option of radiotherapy at a later date if you have a recurrence of prostate cancer, whereas it can be difficult to have surgery after radiotherapy. Another question to ask is, if you go down the radiotherapy plus hormone therapy route, how long would you be on hormone therapy for? What the hormone therapy does is to put the cancer into hibernation, weakening the cells and making them more susceptible to treatment by depriving them of the testosterone that they feed off. This does have side effects for as long as you are on it but the degree to which you will experience them is variable although most men have to combat fatigue so keeping as fit as possible is important. Please come back with any questions and the friends here who have been there, done that, and worn the T-shirt will help with their experiences. Emotionally we are with you in knowing the shock and fear that a cancer diagnosis has but a statistic to remember is that 98% of men die with it and NOT of it.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1078143916303702