Father has Cancer

11 years 5 months ago #43380 by motomike
Replied by motomike on topic Father has Cancer
We are here and alive and well. It is extremely important at this point that you and your dad not let your thinking take you to the negative dark areas. Each of us here is a living testimony of the great things coming from the medical folks. We are great sources of optimism so if you are down and need strength let us know.

I'm 70, retired heat/air contractor. After 4 months of keymo ileal conduit (IC) surgery removed bladder & prostate May 2010

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11 years 5 months ago #43375 by jimswife
Replied by jimswife on topic Father has Cancer
Have hope. Jim was diagnosed stage 3 bc July 2010 when he had his RC IC he ended up having stage 4 having gone into the prostate and 3 local lymph nodes. Jim started chemo,gemzar/cisplatin for 6+ months. As of June 2012 he was still cancer free. His next CT is in December and our hope is for continued cancer free report. Keep you hopes up and get the best doctors you can who know bc.

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11 years 5 months ago #43369 by GKLINE
Replied by GKLINE on topic Father has Cancer
Whatever the stage... a qualified Urologist has a plan. If they don't have a plan, then find one that does.
But, It appears as though you Dr. has one for your father.

The first Surgery to remove the tumor was called a TURB (we'll refer to this from time to time)
He will have another one in a few weeks to see if there are clear margins of tissue where the cancer was.

The need to find out if the cancer is totally encapsuled in the bladder is very important in deciding if chemo is needed before surgery. If your dad is like a lot of us, they will remove his bladder and prostate and recommend a diversion for him.

Please don't panic and start making end of life decisions. This is a fight that can be won with good Dr. and agressive treatments.

Mike and I and a lot more here, are living proof.

keep your chin up and ask us anything. We are here because when we had this..... there wasn't a place like this.

George

Light a man a fire and he is warm for an evening.
Light a man ON fire and he's warm forever.

08/08/08...RC neo bladder
09/09/09...New Hip
=
New Man! [/size]

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11 years 5 months ago #43368 by mmc
Replied by mmc on topic Father has Cancer
Stage 4 is the highest stage. Others here have had Stage 3 and they are still here to talk about it.

At this point, testing him to see if there is any other spread is the key to working out the treatment plan. If it has not spread beyond the local area, they will likely remove his bladder and prostate and urethra. Depending on his particular circumstances they may build him a new bladder out of a segment of his intestine. Since the urethra was involved they would hook up his new bladder to a stoma inside his belly button so it doesn't show. Alternatively, he may not be able to get a new bladder (neobladder or Indiana Pouch). In that case, they connect his ureters up to a tube that he will connect to a urostomy bag. Lots of people have these as well. Either way works fine and people are generally able to do pretty much everything they used to.

He will likely have to have a number of rounds of chemo even before they remove the bladder.

Mike

Age 54
10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
1/2014 ct scan results....distant mets
2/2014 ct result...spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph...

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11 years 5 months ago #43367 by DaddysGirl
Father has Cancer was created by DaddysGirl
I just found out my father has stage 3 bladder cancer. Told my mom the highest stage....but online shows a stage 4? They said radiation won't help and have not mentioned chemo. They went last week and removed the tumor yet he continues peeing blood and hurting. They do a CT scan tomorrow to see if its in his lymph nodes. If its not in 6 weeks they will go back and see if the roots have resurfaced or built another tumor. If its in his lymph nodes they are sending him to Chapel Hill and having his bladder and prostrate removed. According to the Doctor the roots were in the bladder, prostrate and urethrae. I'm scared to know, but what are his odds?

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