Surving life after bladder surgery

Hello,

I am new to the cafe and your post relates to the decision we are facing. My dad is being treated at Johns Hopkins. He has to decide whether to have the bladder surgery or try to beat the cance with chemo and radiation. He is inclined to reject the surgery although it's his best bet to remove the cancer. Would you be willing to share a little more about your husband's recovery? Was there a lot of pain and discomfort after the surgery? If so, how long did it last? What are the constraints of living with the bag? Is it hard to manage? Can he manage it by himself? I would be grateful for any experience you are willing to share.

I hope everything continues to go well for you.

Thanks,

Liz

Hi Sharon,

No there wasn't any lymph node involvement, so we were very lucky in this regard so he didn't need to have any chemo.

Best wishes to you and your other half.  Hope the chemo goes well.  The only thing is to keep positive.  Look at Lance Armstrong how far he got after his cancer.  Anythingis possible.

Tina

Hey Tina,
Sounds like things are going well for you all and I'm so happy for you...I guess your husband's CA had no lymph node involvement. Did he have to take chemo? My significant other for the past 33 yrs had his bladder removed in Feb. There are lymph nodes involved. CT scans show that it hasn't spread elsewhere. It is stage 4. This Friday will be his 3rd chemo tx. He'll skip a week and begin 3 more....It's really hard not knowing. Thank you for listening.
Sharon

Hi to all,

I've been on this site before reading and getting support and knowledge.  I'm not the one with the cancer, my husband is, but i do all the research and pass it on to him.  He was diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer about 12 months ago, 6 months ago he had his surgery to remove his bladder.  They also removed the prostate and some lymph nodes (for testing).  Luckily the cancer had remained in the bladder and not progressed anywhere else.  It has been 6 months and so far so good.  We have had some scary times, like kidney infections or the odd pain here or there, but thank god everything is ok.  He has been back at work and our life is nearly back to normal.  Unfortnately the cancer thing is always in the back of our mind and i'm scared it will come back somewhere but he is being monitered so if anthing comes back they can get it soon.  

I just want to say to everyone not to give up hope  and you can live a normal life without the bladder.  I'm not saying it will be easy but i am very proud of my husband how has coped.  Some days are not good but some are quite good.

To all the cancer suffers don't give up hope, modern science is a wonderfull thing.

I pray this year for us is going to be a better year.