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Part IV

My urologist returned in January. He was unaware of what had happened until I spoke to him. His response was that he was not concerned about the stricture. "The important thing was to be sure that there was no cancer." I fully understood his focus on the cancer but was unhappy that that focus appeared to be distracting him from dealing with a problem that made me miserable and which I wanted to be sure would not recur. I answered, "I'm glad you're not worried about the stricture, but I am!" He assured me that he would treat the stricture with laser at the next cystoscopy. A urine

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Part III

When you learn that you have cancer, it changes you for ever. Every clean bill of health is a celebration, and an invitation to go back to living, but... waiting once more for the ticking time bomb, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then, there are complications of treatment that never let you forget.
I thought that my bladder cancer was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but I was wrong. Two years ago, just after my mother's 83 birthday, she developed leukemia. She quickly went from an independent woman with her own apartment and car to assisted living. Her doctors were

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Part II

I took my catheter out and prepared to enjoy my recovery with all my problems behind me. I had my first Christmas celebration with gifts and stockings since my daughter's boyfriend wasn't Jewish and the kids wanted to do it. Of course, we threw a little Hanukkah Gelt into the stockings to make it ecumenical. The hooks for the stockings are still screwed into the mantle. Then we went out to the movies. I almost drove us into some wrong way traffic - maybe still under the influence of anesthesia. I made it through the movie without having to go to the rest room, but afterwards, I had a

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Part I

My story begins 8 years before I had bladder cancer. I started having annoying symptoms: needing to urinate more frequently and having these twinges that felt like when you gotta go, but only lasting a second. I'm a pediatrician, not especially knowledgeable about bladder cancer since it's just not seen in kids... and even now, after having had bladder cancer, from reading the posts on this forum it's quite clear there are lots of folks here who know a lot more about bladder cancer than I do... but, since I am a physician, I was able to do my own urinalysis and send a culture to the

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Hi
Well my journey back to the real world continues.It was my first day back at work today I spent the day with a trainer to try and bring me back up to speed and will be with him again tomorrow.It feels really odd almost as if I have never been away but at the same time it feels as if its part of a different world.
  I am feeling pretty upbeat and ready for the challenge it was odd putting work clothes on this morning I have got so used to just pulling on jeans and a t shirt.To have to wear makeup and a suit seemed strange and when I looked in the mirror it didnt look like me.Although thats

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Well what do you know - the small areas they took away were precancerous and the remainder was cancer free.  I start back on 6 BCGs next Monday.  That is brilliant news and it has taken two weeks to sink in properly.  Again, I'm keeping the blog going to show that life is beginning to get back to normal.

It has been 10 months since diagnosis and so much has happened.  I'm "over the moon" about the results and whilst I am not looking forward to the BCGs - I know that the last 6 cleared up the CIS I was left with after the first two operations.

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So I have good news.  My 25 radiation treatments  and my 5 chemo treatments are finished.  Cat scan results yesterday as follows. Tumor is still present but it has loosened up considerably (The doctor used a word for this that I don't recall what it was)  In other words, the density is much less, it seems to be breaking up.   Also, all other traces of cancer in bladder are gone, and there is no trace of it spreading.  Lymphs are negative (perhaps they always were)

Now  - after a much needed week off - I'll take another 8 radiation treatments, but unlike the first round which was aimed to the

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no, i haven't had any trearments for bladder cancer yet.  i haven't had any mri's or pet scans either, what if the cancer has spread, how will i know?                                                                                

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i've had bladder cancer for 3 years, had surgery two different times to remove tumors,  the last two times i  had a cysterscope, my bladder was red and inflamed, i go back for a nother cysterscope on july 1st. my last one was may 1st.  the doctor is talking about the bcg treatments, he said chemo doesn't seen to work well on bladder cancer. this is just dragging on and i want this to be over with. why does my bladder stay inflamed? THE DOCTOR SAID IF I HAD THE BCG TREATMENTS NOW  IT COULD DO MORE HARM. WHY?  i am a 64 old female.      

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Well, I am very much underway with the radiation and chemo treatments.  Radiation  15 minutes a day, 5 days a week at 7 AM, and Chemo one day a week,  for 5 hours. (Cysplatin)

I have been told that I'm a T2,  with a possibility of T3, and  am being treated as if nodal involvement is negative.  Tomotherapy, the name of the clinic, and apparently one of only 100  of these new radiation machines in existence in the US.   Among the advances of this  unit is its ability to read where it is going while it administers the rays.  The bladder apparrently is a moving target .

So far no  side effects at

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