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after 3 times with bladder cancer I have been cancer free for over 2 years. but I will never forget my friends here that have helped me thru the ruff times-* thank you so very much my prayers are with you

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In January 2007, the bleeding became continuous. I went to my present primary care doctor and was told that I should take antibiotics and see if it improved. I called back when the big clots started coming but was told (by a nurse) to just keep my regular appointment. I didn't get to that appointment because I had to go to the hospital with "frank bleeding."  I got a referral to a urologist while hospitalized and had a tur after being transferred to a hospital repaired enough to do it. Pathology: Stage 3 high grade tcc with sarcomatoid features. Some tumor remained after tur. The tumor has

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Susan - delayed diagnosis
A volunteer at my church helped me find WebCafe and its forum. My bladder cancer has spread to my liver and lungs, maybe a bone. i was supposed to have a radical cystectomy this month (Dec. '07), but we cancelled it after the MRIi report. Now, I'm getting chemotherapy (taxol and genzar). MVAC didn't work for me. Radiation did shrink my primary tumor.

I am told my case is "difficult" because of the late stage of discovery/tur/diagnosis (Stage 3, fat invasive) the sarcomatoid variant, and now the spreading. I know it is difficult -- I just want to be seen as important

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Hi everyone , in Jan 2006 we got a break in our weather,(I live in the  mountains) so I was doing an early spring cleaning in my horse barn. I had been moving alot of heavy junk out all day when I had to stop and pee.Surprise! alot of blood came out, so being me I went back to cleaning figuring I probly wasn,t going to drop over dead yet. That night I was still peeing blood so I went to the er. They did a cat scan and said I had a kidney stone, the Dr. ask me if my back was hurting ,and it was but I deal with back pain all the time so it wasn,t any big deal. Went home to strain my pee for a

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Home alone:

Now that the operation is all over I have no regrets for choosing to have the neo bladder. I would be lying if I said it was easy it certainly was not.

At times during my first few days I did have lots of regrets and thought I had made a big mistake for choosing the neo bladder. The other operation for the stoma bag would have been easier on my body and the recovery time much quicker. However I came through it all and I am alive and I am so very thankful and appreciative. I take my hat off to all of the people involved in helping and supporting me for getting through the last 6

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Home:

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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