Unknown Lesion...Terrified

George, I shed my first real tears reading your post, the first since the tumor was found yesterday. Thank you. I've been so wound up and I really need the release. Thank you for your encouraging words. The doc did say that if it's cancer it likely low grade and early stage (don't know how he could know this). I'm already compiling quite a list of questions about the post-op expectations as well as looking at the Urological Oncology dept. at Stanford.

Hello
I am so glad to see you ALL here.
The Rock and I are kind of old posters here and I am so glad to see there are new people here who are so quick to help assuage the fears of new people. I speak for many here in thanking you for your concern when someone is looking for support.

Purrkat
We were all scared shitless when we first got "the word"
That c word is an awful thing to hear.
Don't try to ask why did I get this...... It will only beat you up.
Now you need to breathe deep and try to realize that you are going to be ok. There are a lot of us here that had the same fear (If they say they weren't scared to death, they are lyingggggg) We were frozen with fear.
But we got a good DR...... Got a good support team with family and friends.... and made ourselves aware of our own destiny and took charge of our medical treatment.

I have it on the highest authority that you will get through this and soon you will be posting a survivor story. It is perfectly normal to be scared, but soon you will start to plan your treatment and you will fight just like we did.

And You will keep us posted as to your progress and eventual "normal" life after c

sincerely
George

Hi there, I know just how you feel. It is scary to hear the words you have heard and even though I can tell you not to worry to much you still will, so here is my story maybe it will help you.
I had some bleeding in the month of Jan local er told me it was a kidney stone , bleeding stopped and I went on my way. The next Jan bleeding came back this time uro sent me for a cat scan which was neg so were the other tests. But then he took a peek in me and told me he saw something and I needed a biopsie, so time for the turb. Woke up to find out it was cancer, he found several tumors . Ta grade 2. Went to John Hopkins and procceded to do watch and see. That was TEN years ago ! It has come back several times over the years but each time it was very small , in fact the grade dropped down to a 1. Each time they just take it out . This winters surgery was a little harder but they scrapped a bigger area. I had the chemo mytomyicin put in last time also. My last scope was clear.
My brother also had a tumor taken out. Ten years later he died of cancer but not bladder cancer it was lung cancer that took him. I have a nephew that also had it but he has been clear for several years.
So as you can see it is very possible to find out you have b.c. and go on to have a good life. I was 53 when I found out now I am 63. I paint houses for a living, I also backpack and hike , I am very active.
If you have bc get a second opinion from a place that does a lot of bc. We have had people on here that have a benign growth when they get their results back. So ask all the question you need to and there are lots of smart people on here that will be glad to help you out . Rocky

Thank you for your supportive message. This notice of possibly having cancer is certainly a challenge for me, but I try to remember that this cancer is treatable and, in my case, likely low grade as cytology was benign. I'll certainly keep you all posted.

Thank you for your support. I will definitely keep you all posted. I think things will be easier when I know what I'm dealing with.

What was the recovery like from the TURBT?

Dear purrkat,

The forum is a great source of information and support. It's helped me since my husband's first scope about 18 months ago.

Waiting on the pathology report will seem like an eternity. His reports are generally reported out in about 10-14 days so that's on par with your timetable. Once you have that result, you'll be in a better place of knowing what that growth is or isn't.

If it is cancer, know that it is highly treatable. If you can, work with a bladder cancer specialist at a major hospital. We considered working with the local general urologist who did the scope for treatment before deciding to access care at Johns Hopkins University (2 hours from home).

Once we met the JHU specialist, I realized we were in the care of an expert, and that provided huge peace of mind.

I hope you will find some light this weekend in reading the forum. Please let us know how things go.

Best wishes.