Bladder Cancer Journey
Apr 28, 2017
By: Trevor
2004
I Passed what looked like a lot of blood in my urine ,My GP sent me to see a Specialist Urologist within 2 weeks of reporting the problem . Went through the whole System on my Specialists appointment Physical examination ,Ultrasound ,Blood and Urine Tests ,Cystoscopy and diagnosis the same day.
As this all started at the end of the year ,think i had my first TURBT in February 2005 ,then came another Cystoscopy and another TURBT .Was put on BCG infusions for 6 x weekly sessions ,A later TURBT showed the BCG was not working and the cancer was back . Went as a day case to have the Tumours Burnt off ,unfortunately my Bladder was breached and spent 16 days in Hospital while it heald,Was told we could not continue along these lines and the Bladder had to come out or i would die,So in April 2006 i had a Radical Cystectomy and Prostatectomy via Open Surgery ,all went as planned.
If you care to do the Maths you will see i have entered my 12 th Year withought a Bladder .OK it is not as good as having what we were born with ,and at times it can be a nuisence ,but here i am still Alive which may not have been the case if i had not gone through this surgery.Suppose like all MALES who have to go through this surgery the biggest regret is losing ones ability to have sex normally as was possible before this Radical Surgery.
If you are reading this and wondering what to do ? the surgry is big and recovery does take time ,But LIFE IS PRECIOUSE and to see ones Children Marry and Grandchildren come along [I have 8 ] and then Great Grandchildren [Have 2 of those ] is well worth the effort one has to go through TO STAY ALIVE .
Thank you for sharing, my fiance was just diagnosed with bladder cancer two weeks ago. He just had a bone scan to see the exact extent of his cancer but right now they are stage two, we're assuming with results it will end up being worse than that. We are trying to absorb all information and haven't even thought about the sexual outcomes yet, just on staying alive at this point. But you saying 12 years, gives me a little hope, we're hoping we get at least 12 more years together, sex or not!
I honestly can't remember posting the above but every word is true . I see you are only 31 and it should be possible to have sperm frozen for future use.
As there is no date on your post i am wondering where you are with your treatment ?
On the Sex front it will not be impossible and there are both pills and mechanical aids to help achieve this ,it may however be a slightly different feeling than previously,hey ho if surgery give us an extension to our life then it is a small price to pay for life itself.
My Very best wishes in this journey ,I managed to achieve the age of 78 just last week .
