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Bladder Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Bladder Cancer | Last Active: 3 hours ago | Replies (253)Comment receiving replies
Hi everybody! I am 66, born and raised in The Netherlands and living in the USA for 22 years now. December 11th 2024, I saw blood in my urine, alarm bells went off, and the next day I was at my doctor's. Doctor first thought it was maybe a UTI but after some urine tests it was not. Within 10 days I had an appointment with a urologist, a week later a Cat Scan. Back to urologist nothing to be seen on Cat Scan but urologist, just to be sure, checked my bladder with camera and found a small tumor. Of course, I was in total shock since I hoped it was a kidney stone that caused the bleeding. 10 Days later I had a TURBT in combination with a 1-time chemo. Urologist told me that during the operation it was difficult to find the tumor but found it, took it out and saw my bladder looks fine and healthy, except for the small tumor on the edge of my bladder. Still, I hoped that would be it but out of prevention I will start BCG treatment coming Tuesday, March 11th. She is positive but I am absolutely not looking forward to it and to be honest I am scared to death. I try to stay positive but wow that is difficult even if my family is telling me I will be fine. My thoughts are with you all too and will follow your journey.
Replies to "Hi everybody! I am 66, born and raised in The Netherlands and living in the USA..."
Hi Quirina, I was diagnosed at 68 with HG non invasive urotheliol carcinoma and also had BCG treatments and also chemo. The treatments were tolerable and I rested a lot and drank plenty of fluids. I do understand that it’s hard to stay positive once you’ve been diagnosed with cancer. I’ve been dealing with this for 2 years now and I’m very grateful for the medical research done on bladder cancer. I pray you will do well on these treatments!
RSand here. You are receiving excellent care in a VERY timely manner. My doctors have not moved as fast.
Please appreciate the excellent care you are getting!
Hi @quirina, how did your first BCG treatment go? How are you doing?
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Hello @quirina, welcome to Connect. You can see my response to walleyebob above describing my husband's bladder cancer journey. Initially a local urologist missed seeing his tumor and the radiologist also missed it on CT because it was located in a diverticulum off the side of his bladder. Mayo radiologists saw it immediately on the same scan. My husband was a BCG failure as a tumor showed up while on the maintenance BCG. He did not find the treatment terrible. A little bladder irritation for less than a day after the infusions, but no pain. He was treated with an antispasmodic during this time to use prior to infusions. If BCG had worked for him, he would have stuck with it as it was a tolerable treatment. Good luck with yours and be strong. Being cancer free is worth it.