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That's great news Rosemary.  You and my husband got the best Christmas present one could ask for.  I thank God for the good report!

Rosemary,

So happy to hear the news on your cystoscopy results, along with the clarification on your results from the pathology report last summer. You must just about be floating on air with the relief you feel, and I just know that what Jean said about dancing at your granddaughters wedding will absolutely be true.
Good Luck and Good Health to you and your family.

Lou

My thanks to you both, Lou and Yosemite!

I plan to continue the Essiac and my herbal "tonic".  The Essiac is very expensive for me though (thank God for my AFLAC cancer policy) so I'm going to learn to make my own.  

The doc and I talked about WHY bladder cancer is so prominent in NC (as opposed to Utah, where I once lived).....He says it's the "tobacco industry".

In Utah,  it is against the law to smoke in public places.  I wish NC would adopt this law.  But, not likely since we are the tobacco capital of the US.  (Money really can talk around here.  It's scary)

We also talked about marijuana and I confessed to having "inhaled" during the young, rebellious years.
He said he didn't think that was it.  Something about some islanders smoking pot and a high reported incidence of bladder cancer among them.  Anyway, for whatever reason that I have BC, you can bet that I will avoid smoke for the rest of my life.  

Lou, please know that I am thinking of you at this time.  

Hi Rosemary,

I'm very relieved to hear that the grade/stage discrepency has been cleared up! Grade 2 is actually good! All things being relative, that is....

Just for the record, BCG maintenance is reserved for those with CIS in Europe, so some doctors would say you're being overtreated (I think, as I recall you didn't have CIS). That's another problem in this field...no universal agreement about treatments, it's enough to make your eyes cross sometimes. It really is one ongoing experiment.

Too bad your doctor poo-poos the fact that BCG actually DOES cause arthritis sometimes. My observations over the years have been that more women suffer this side effect than men, and since so many more men get blc than women, and most doctors don't treat so many women, I can understand if your doctor hasn't run into this before...but he should know it happens.

Too bad there aren't more uros that specialize in the problems women have with treatments that were predominantly tested on men. Women weren't even included in clinical trials until the late 70's/early 80s, don't ask me why!

Take care and hang in there,
Wendy

Thanks, Wendy!!

The nurses at the hospital always told me that they ususally  only see "old men" with this disease.
I understood that comment yesterday when I noticed that I was the only female in the waiting room surrounded by older men discussing their prostates!

Hope you are doing well, also.

With much appreciation,
Ro

I can attest to that... in my urologist's office, I am usually in the waiting room for HOURS, and I'm the youngest and most female by far... cept for the little old men's wives who drove them there!  They even give me funny looks, I swear.. 8-)

Lauren