Tahoe,
In response to your comment "I would prefer to keep my bladder if possible, wouldn't you?" my response would be "NO, thank you." My new Indiana Pouch is a much better operating system than I had with my originial bladder...before I even knew I had been hit with cancer. When I first heard Pat say something similiar like that to me about a year or so ago, I wondered how she could make such a statement. If anyone was my mentor through all my BC journey, it was Pat. She seemed so happy and self assured about her experience that I wanted to be like her. I'm glad she was there for me, holding my hand. Now after discovering life with my new Indy and finding it working so well for me, well, life is definitely much improved for me. I feel very blessed. I am more energentic now than was prior to my diagnosis and I have such an improved view of life. I am 57 and I regard every day as a gift...life for me is just beginning.
Initally I did not want to have my bladder removed and I was determined to get the opinion of at least 3 doctors, hoping one would say I didn't need the surgery. I prayed in earnest that God would direct me to the right people to help me and He did...I was directed to some very good doctors and all of them said I should have the surgery. He directed me to this website and to Pat and Holly, and Wendy, whom I can never say "thank you" often enough for they gave me much needed support and encouragement....and here I am today, back to work and feeling terrific. Last July seems like only a dream now...altho. some might would call it a nightmare...but it had to be done. I was always called a whimp but proved others wrong.
My doctors never did agree as to whether I was a 2 or a 3...I just knew I had seen the cancer on the monitor and I wanted to ensure that it was all removed and I had the best possible chance at living a normal life. In 1988 I had a hysterectomy because I was fighting off cervical cancer and did not want to take any chances on it returning, and so told the doctors to do surgery, and I felt the same way about bladder cancer...after the TURB, the doctor did not feel he had gotten all of the tumor but he went as far as he could without puncturing the bladder. As it turned out, when they removed my bladder, four months later, the bladder still contained some cancer so I made the right call for me. Anyway, I hope you will make the best choice for yourself...it isn't easy and often at the time, we don't know until enough time passes whether we have made the right decision or not. What we do know, is that only we can take responsibility and accountability for our health. Take care. Melodie