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I spent 10 days at home with my two catheters and it was a very slow process building up my strength day by day. Walking around the living room or visiting the toilet was enough to feel exhausted.

During these 10 days at home I had a great support network to help me which is so important. Rest and relaxation was the order from the doctor and eating as much as possible to get my strength back. During my 22 day hospital stay I lost 14 kilo’s in weight and it took a good week before I noticed that I was filling out again and not so gaunt.

I truly believe that getting to your home environment

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Radical Cystectomy Part 2:

On the sixth day my intestines were still sleeping and then the central line came into action as they decided to feed me using this method. They used a special liquid food that absorbs into the blood and systems. This method continued for several more days as my intestines decided to take a holiday also and refused to come on line. Of course I received all important nutrients and vitamins to sustain life. This however did not stop my body weight melting away.

It was the little things that meant so much to me giving me a sign of hope that I would be going home soon.

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Radical Cystectomy Part 1:

The operation was scheduled on September 14th and two days prior to this I was admitted for pre-op tests which included blood samples and a few x-rays of my chest. All of which were necessary to ensure I was in good health for this major surgery.

I was very luckily allocated a single room with shower and toilet facilities, a lottery I am told in Holland.

On the second day of admission I literally spent the whole day visiting the toilet as I had to cleanse my bowels prior to surgery the following morning. They gave me a lemon tasting drink and I had to drink three

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TURB:

Once admitted into the hospital later that day I was given directions to my Urology ward and I was allocated into a room with four other beds. It was not long before they called my name and said that it was time.

The procedure was done by local anaesthetic by inserting a needle in my back and after 15 minutes I had no feeling from the waist down. The procedure was very quick just 30 minutes and very similar to the cystoscopy only this time with tools to scrape the growth and burn the wound closed.

On the ceiling of the operating room hung a large reflective mirror and I could see all the

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Dear Forum Members,

My story started in the spring of 2007.

I am a 38 year old English guy living in the Netherlands.

Symptoms:

The initial symptoms that I noticed was that my need to urinate increased and the flow of my urine became intermittent instead of the usual constant flow. The last few drops of my urine were also pink in colour.

Doctors Appointments:

I assumed I had a urinary infection and made an appointment at my doctor. The doctor was not concerned by the changes in urination I had mentioned. I gave a sample of my urine for testing and it came back negative for infection and blood.

The

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