Bladder Cancer: Stage 2 high grade

Posted by lclancy @lclancy, Sep 29, 2018

My husband was just diagnosed with Stage 2 high grade bladder cancer. The cancer has invaded the muscle wall but had not gone though it. He had a cat scan which showed no spreading of the disease, in particular, lymph nodes unremarkable. We made the trip to the Mayo Clinic and the urologist noticed what he thought was an enlarged lymph node. The doctor suggested a pet scan. The pet scan was conducted and shows 4 suspicious hypermetobolic lymph nodes in the abdomen. Needless to say we are scared and very confused as we though it was stage 2 and could be cured. We are going through the process of starting chemo, doing all tests, insurance approval, etc. As we understand it, at this point, surgery can not be done to remove these nodes, since they are too deep in the abdomen. We were supposed do 4 chemo cycles and then have bladder and prostate removed. We have a follow up with oncologist in two days (Monday). Since this is the weekend and we found this out on Friday afternoon, we are left with so many questions. Has anyone experienced something similar?

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@colleenyoung

@jimmy2248 and @lclancy, I thought I'd check in and see how you're doing?
LClancy, how did chemo go? Did or will your husband have surgery?

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I was taken off my "Keytruda" after 14 infusions. I had c scan in December. No change in metastatic disease.

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@jimmy2248

I was taken off my "Keytruda" after 14 infusions. I had c scan in December. No change in metastatic disease.

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In this case, no change is good, right? Why were the infusions stopped, Jimmy?

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I had bowell problem that put me in the hospital for three days. my ucologist left immune thearphy open for now. Wait and see . c scan in February.

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Hello. Meet with ucologist. Blood work looks good. Some Levels a little low. Waiting for c scan some time this month. I have been doing yoga for almost 7 yrs. Started about 3yrs ago doing "Yin" yoga.

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yes ... I had chemo and then the bladder , prostrate , and lymph nodes removed . I had a section of intestine made into an abdominal pouch that I drain with a catheter ,, ask me anything

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@john0416

yes ... I had chemo and then the bladder , prostrate , and lymph nodes removed . I had a section of intestine made into an abdominal pouch that I drain with a catheter ,, ask me anything

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My father recently had bladder, prostate and lymph nodes removed. He stars chemo (Etoposide/ Cisplatin) in a few weeks. Any suggestions for managing Chemo side effects?

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I had these same surgeries in 2006 at Mayo-Rochester. These were followed with chemotherapy. As I recall, I had minor side affects the first few sessions. I didn’t lose any hair, but the texture changed and it thinned considerably. I didn’t have much nausea, but took medication prior to the chemo. I would recommend a port if they have problems finding veins. As the weeks of chemo passed, I had problems with low white cell count and had 2-3 transfusions. I’m now cancer free. Best wishes to you on your treatment and if you have any questions, please advise. Sincerely, Bruce

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John0416@john0416, My husband is going to have a radical cystectomy, prostatectomy and removal of lymph nodes with a creation of a neobladder robotically on August 8th at the Phoenix Mayo clinic. I am wondering how you are doing? My husband had 4 cycles of chemo and 3 Neulasta injections. Any advice on preparing for the big day? How many days were you in the hospital? Was yours done robotically? Thanks for any info you can give.

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More info: Interstitial bladder cancer was found about 3 years ago. Husband had 2 six week BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerron) treatments. Then 4 three week sessions. This was over a period of 3 years. He was followed up with cystoscopies and the last one involved a biopsy. Biopsy showed Stage 2 muscle invasive bladder cancer. So then we went to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. Started and completed chemo in Tucson, but followed by Mayo.

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