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Original poster

Talk to me about bladder cancer

7 replies

blummineck · 23/08/2015 09:34

Hey,

Looking for some advice from you lovely people. No one I can chat to really in RL. (at this stage anyway)

I'm 38 and I've been having some abdo problems recently, coupled with the odd instance of blood in urine. First thoughts were perhaps kidney stones, so an ultrasound of my abdo and pelvis were taken on Thursday. About 3 hours later I get a call from the Doctors, can I go in as soon as possible.
They found a lump in the bladder, about 3cm and they need to urgently refer me to a urologist to see if its cancerous..... Sad

The soonest they could get me in was the 2nd of Sept, but they said they would keep trying all the hospitals to get me in sooner.

So just wondered if any of you had a similar experience? Did you go and find it was something else? Or can they tell from the ultrasound the difference between something cancerous and something thats not?

When I asked the doctor the liklihood that it could be cancer she just said, well I'm young and they may have caught it in time. She didn't say.. oh well it could be this or that....

Thanks for reading guys.

xxx

OP posts:
WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo · 23/08/2015 12:24

Hello,

Sorry you are going through this. I have no experience of bladder cancer myself, but I didn't want your post to go unanswered.

The urgency is because of the "two week wait rule" which means that anything that could be cancer needs to be referred within two weeks. It is best to rule out the nasty stuff first rather than the other way round. Hopefully they will be able to find you an appointment sooner than 2nd September.

You are more than welcome to join us on the Tamoxigang thread. It is for anyone who has cancer of any kind, or is being tested for cancer. Probably our favourite thing to do is to wave goodbye to someone who has had an all clear, but if it does turn out to be cancer, we are very good at hand holding and providing support. The thread is a bit quiet at the moment, I blame this whole hacking thing.

Lots of people say that the waiting to find out the results is the worst part, even if they do turn out to have cancer. The unknown is often scarier. So Flowers and Cake while you are going through this.

pinkfrocks · 23/08/2015 12:56

Not an expert but do know that the odds are it's a benign polyp. Bladder cancer is a) more common in men b) the elderly c) smokers.

as a 38 yr old woman it is highly unlikely.

Mary Archer- wife of Jeffrey- had it a few years ago, had a new bladder reconstructed and is now fine so I understand.

Original poster
blummineck · 23/08/2015 15:56

Many thanks for your responses guys.

I shall check out the tamoxigang thread Smile

Ive never smoked, so lets hope its just a polyp Smile

Argghh just hate waiting for stuff like this. Confused

Thanks again guys.

Xx

OP posts:
Maw8 · 07/09/2022 23:05

Hi was all well in the end?

NC1016 · 09/09/2022 15:53

How is it going OP? DH has personal experience of bladder cancer. (He smoked for a while, but less than many and had quit about 15 years before diagnosis).

I hope your issue has been revealed to be something else but in case it has not, I will lay out a few things that may also help other MNetters. DH like, it seems, you, benefitted from a fast journey through the system. The majority are not muscle invasive and can be cured or controlled for a long time with local procedures. Mary Archer and DH were not so lucky, but after bladder removal both had a new bladder called a neobladder bladder built (from a piece of intestine). DH and according to her interviews (part of my research) Dame Mary are very happy with the decision. Keith Richards’ wife also has this.

Health outcomes with neobladder are at least as good, maybe better, than with other options. Surgery is much bigger and recovery is longer. The patient must be suitable and fit.

DH has had no recurrence and no significant problems since, just some minor UTIs til he went on permanent very low dose antibiotics. Not uncommon with a neobladder. He is over five years from diagnosis.

(DH also had chemo before his surgery, now typical for BC patients who need chemo. He did very well and apparently this is also fairly typical, although of course you never can tell. His surgeon told us getting as fit as possible from our very first visit would help everything go better, and I think it did.)

Maw8 · 09/09/2022 17:48

I’m currently awaiting Cystoscopy for a 5mm polyp found by ultrasound for something completely different …I’ve made myself sick with worry ..I think I’ve read every single bit of info on google :( I’m terrified! All my consultant could give me at the time was it might be something it might be nothing

Original poster
blummineck · 28/10/2022 18:52

Hi guys,
I'm so sorry I have only just seen that there were fresh messages on here. I'm sorry for not updating much sooner... It was all a bit of a whirlwind in the end.. turns out I did have bladder cancer, PTA G3 so not muscle invasive but quite aggressive. so I had the tumour removed and a course of in bladder chemo called mytomycin for 6 weeks ... that didn't do anything and it came back with a vengeance.... the whole bladder looked caked in it. . so another tumour removal and this time they went with in bladder BCG treatment which seems to have kept it at bay... over the last 5-6 years I've had the full 27 treatments and I'm now on annual checkups... I'm actually well overdue my latest one so need to call them on Monday.

Hope all of you on your own journeys have a good outcome.

Happy to answer any questions for those on similar paths x

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