Just diagnosed with Bladder Cancer: What can I expect?

Posted by mrbigdog2u @mrbigdog2u, Jun 11, 2019

I was recently diagnosed with Bladder Cancer and am very curious about the prognosis. Can anyone help?

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@spooz2

Currently, I am undergoing chemo/radiation which, I am told, should last 8 weeks in total. (After four chemo sessions, I have had virtually no side effects.) Some weeks thereafter I will have another PET scan to determine the effectiveness of the chemo/radiation.

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24 hrs. post 7th radiation session, I experienced gross hematuria filling my ostomy bag with fresh clots. Has anyone had a similar experience?

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@spooz2

24 hrs. post 7th radiation session, I experienced gross hematuria filling my ostomy bag with fresh clots. Has anyone had a similar experience?

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@spooz2, blood in your urine should be reported to your cancer care team right away, in my opinion. Do you have a number to call? Since it's Sunday, you might have to go to your nearest emergency. How are you feeling?

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I expect to have medical attention tomorrow. I spoke to my Radiation Oncologist upon my discovery of this problem, and, as long as I did not exhibit any other symptoms, he said I could wait to the next business day.

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@spooz2

I expect to have medical attention tomorrow. I spoke to my Radiation Oncologist upon my discovery of this problem, and, as long as I did not exhibit any other symptoms, he said I could wait to the next business day.

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Phew. Thanks for responding to me right away that you had consulted your radiation oncologist. I was worried. If you have a chance, please post an update tomorrow. Sleep well.

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Inexplicably, Tuesday afternoon brought clear urine as if the hematuria was switched off. My visit to my surgeon at the Miami Cancer Institute resulted in tests prescribed to determine its etiology: cytology and a CT Scan. Inflammation, a broken blood vessel or cancer re-occurence are possibilities.

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@spooz2

Inexplicably, Tuesday afternoon brought clear urine as if the hematuria was switched off. My visit to my surgeon at the Miami Cancer Institute resulted in tests prescribed to determine its etiology: cytology and a CT Scan. Inflammation, a broken blood vessel or cancer re-occurence are possibilities.

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@spooner2 SUCH good news! What did your doctor say?

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@spooz2

Inexplicably, Tuesday afternoon brought clear urine as if the hematuria was switched off. My visit to my surgeon at the Miami Cancer Institute resulted in tests prescribed to determine its etiology: cytology and a CT Scan. Inflammation, a broken blood vessel or cancer re-occurence are possibilities.

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@spooz2, your experience Tuesday with hematuria has similarities to mine on a dozen occasions over the last few years -- showing up without warning, sometimes producing small clots the size of a pea, sometimes recurring with urination for a couple of days, then just "switching off," as you said. When it first occurred about 8 years ago -- 2 years after surgery to remove a dozen papillary tumors and excess prostate tissue from inside my bladder -- my urologist reviewed his surgery notes as well as the first half-dozen cystoscopy exams of my bladder linings, residual prostate tissue, and urethra and found no graphic evidence of a source of blood. Finally, he noted that the blood in my urine was diluted quite a bit, not "frank" or thick as it emerged. At his suggestion, we agreed that the dilute blood -- even accompanied by a small clot or two -- probably had "leaked" from tissues in my bladder and that urgent emergency care could be avoided if the pinkish urine cleared up in a couple of days. So that's a normal part of my life since then (I had another incident just last week). Did your radical cystectomy leave you with an entirely different situation than mine, with my bladder still intact and functioning?

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@predictable

@spooz2, your experience Tuesday with hematuria has similarities to mine on a dozen occasions over the last few years -- showing up without warning, sometimes producing small clots the size of a pea, sometimes recurring with urination for a couple of days, then just "switching off," as you said. When it first occurred about 8 years ago -- 2 years after surgery to remove a dozen papillary tumors and excess prostate tissue from inside my bladder -- my urologist reviewed his surgery notes as well as the first half-dozen cystoscopy exams of my bladder linings, residual prostate tissue, and urethra and found no graphic evidence of a source of blood. Finally, he noted that the blood in my urine was diluted quite a bit, not "frank" or thick as it emerged. At his suggestion, we agreed that the dilute blood -- even accompanied by a small clot or two -- probably had "leaked" from tissues in my bladder and that urgent emergency care could be avoided if the pinkish urine cleared up in a couple of days. So that's a normal part of my life since then (I had another incident just last week). Did your radical cystectomy leave you with an entirely different situation than mine, with my bladder still intact and functioning?

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Martin. .. Many thanks for relating your experience with hematuria. I have requested my PCP to arrange for a CT scan which, I trust, will reveal the cause of mine. I do not understand your ? about my radical cystectomy,

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@spooz2

Martin. .. Many thanks for relating your experience with hematuria. I have requested my PCP to arrange for a CT scan which, I trust, will reveal the cause of mine. I do not understand your ? about my radical cystectomy,

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Hi, Stuart (@spooz2). A posting attributed to you last June 18 mentioned a radical cystectomy last October. That normally involves bladder removal, which may be a faulty assumption on my part. Perhaps we have more in common that I thought. If your bladder was not removed, a better question would have asked whether your urologist might visually examine your urinary tract with a cystoscope. Martin

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Martin....my radical cystectomy last Sept. removed my bladder, prostate and neighboring lymph glands. Thankfully, my right kidney remains intact. My forthcoming CT scan was prescribed to reveal the cause of the 5 days of hematuria now resolved.

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