Hi @jowilliams1

I am sorry to hear you were diagnosed at such an early age. I would think you are referring to RC (being a "newbie" here) indicating you have had a radical cystectomy is this correct? I am filled with questions but am not quite sure where to begin.

If, in fact, you did have this surgery - may I please ask what ultimately made you reach this decision? I see, sadly, that bladder cancer is unrelenting for so many, unfortunately, and I can certainly understand someone who has gone numerous TURBT treatments and then the follow-up protocol, could become so discouraged they would willingly opt for this.

I have just begun on this dreaded journey and am scheduled for my first of six BCG intravesical therapy treatments tomorrow. I feel as though my wide-ranging emotions have been tossed into a cement mixer and somehow the mechanism has broken and the drum is continuing to turn. I suppose that fear, unrelenting anxiety and apprehension is part of the road we all inevitably will travel with this diagnosis.

I was heartened to hear you are doing well now and may you continue on this path from here on in. I wish you stable health and much happiness in 2026. I admire your emotional fortitude and courage.

There is a poem by Emily Dickinson which comes to mind:

"Hope is a thing with feathers That perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all."