Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom

4 years 5 months ago - 4 years 5 months ago #58480 by Alan
Replied by Alan on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
It would be wrong to make any kind of guess... non productive effort, especially when we were not in the OR and not doctors. Pathology tells all.

DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.

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4 years 5 months ago #58479 by Ariver1
Replied by Ariver1 on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
Today my mother had TURBT for a finding of polyps in the bladder and a urine cytology that said suspicious of malignancy 2 weeks ago.

The urologist said that what he found was a large, inflamed polyp that he did not think was cancer. He removed it and the area around it, and cauterized that. He said he can't say for sure, but he doesn't think this is cancer, though the pathology report will determine if it is or not, as we know. We'll get that by October 22 when we go for the post-op visit.

Any input on what this kind of inflamed polyp might be?

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4 years 6 months ago - 4 years 6 months ago #58357 by Alan
Replied by Alan on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
Best answer is you have to wait for the biopsy. I never smoked either. About 2/3 of bladder cancers I am told are caused by nicotine. I will give you another example. I have had a triple bypass about 30 months ago. All of my lipids were normal so why I asked? CHL was 130, HDL about 50, LDL about 80 triglycerides were normal. Point is everyone is unique and different. Heredity is probably the biggest link.

We simply have to live one day at a time. As I jokingly sometimes say and hope the turnip truck doesn't hit me first.

DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.
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4 years 6 months ago #58356 by Ariver1
Replied by Ariver1 on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
I have another question as a follow up to my Mom's first visit today with the urologist who will do the biopsy (polyps discovered last week in a urogyecology exam & urine cystology (came back suspicious for malignancy; atypical cells, hypercromatic nuclei; moderate blood in urine). That doctor kept emphasizing he was seeing "polyps that were bleb-like, not tree/cauliflower-like).

So today was the urologist appointment, and he had the reports from the first doctor. No physical exam, but went over her background information, etc. and set an October 9 date for outpatient biopsy.

He asked her about being a smoker, which she never was, and surprised the caretaker who accompanied her by remarking that he rarely saw bladder cancer in a non-smoker. Does this make sense? He gave her Myrbetriq for 4 weeks for the frequent urination.

I'm wondering a couple of things: how can he be so adamant about the smoking history? From my limited new reading, though that is a real connection, I'm wondering what to make of that. Also, giving a medicine for OAB also surprised me if he's suspecting cancer.

I realize the biopsy is the determiner, but I'm trying to read into his questions to get a sense of his first impression based on all of the above.

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4 years 6 months ago #58331 by Ariver1
Replied by Ariver1 on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
Yes, very helpful. Thank you. The waiting is hard.

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4 years 6 months ago #58330 by sara.anne
Replied by sara.anne on topic Bladder Polyps 94 year old Mom
The most common type of bladder cancer shows up as you have read as either mushroom like or cauliflower like polyps growing up from the bladder lining . It is impossible to tell until a biopsy is done as Alan described whether these are cancerous or not and also whether they are high grade (rapidly growing) or low grade (very slowly growing.). Also, urine cytology...looking at the properties of cells in urine..is notorious for false positives, or indicating that cancer is present when isn’t. Unfortunately, you cannot know or guess what is going on until after the biopsy and the return of the pathology report... which can take a week or so. While the urologist may be able to make an educated guess after the TURB it won’t be confirmed until the report comes back from the pathologist.

You will find that there is a lot of hurry up and wait in this game . It is hard to be patient when there is so much at stake

Hope this has helped a bit.

Sara Anne

Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
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