T2 G3

Thanks Joe, did you have your chemo before your operation or after? How did you hold up through it? I'm worried my dad will be really sick He's always so lively, I'd hate him to be so miserable :'( Did you loose your hair while having the treatment (sorry if that's a personel questions?!?)

I must tell my dad about choosing options before surgery, i know he doesnt want an external bag so I presume he'll say neo then pouch?!? Thanks for letting me know though, he'll need to be prepared for that outcome so I'll discuss this with him!

newbie08 I had the gemzar/cisplatin and it turned out I was allergic to the gemzar so they switched mine to the high intensity MVAC and I made out just fine with that chemo. Also make a list of the 3 diversions in the order you want because I was going for the Neobladder and when my surgeon opened me up he didn't like what he saw for the neobladder. There are some things they can't see till they open you up just a suggestion. Joe

Thanks everyone, just saw the rest of the posts now! I'm only getting around to catching up on everyone, hopefully I'll get to reply to people tongiht when I get home from work!

Visit to SK went well (as can be expected of course!), god everything is like clockwork in SK, we were v impressed, everything was so professional, I really think our health system needs a kick up the :-X here, there is such a gap in care!! More strikes starting today in the health system

Anyway a quick update, we met with Dr Bochner, he was very informative and very positive which I think we needed (our doc here had scared the living day lights out of us about the neobladder complications etc and I knew my dad really didnt want the surgery after hearing that) Bochner on the other hand was very positive and he stressed that my dad was young and the outcome from the neobladder op can be be very good, even though my dad hasnt admitted it I know he got comfort from Bochner's confidence about the op and the fact he does a number of surgeries per week (our doc does only has done a few a year?!)

So suggested plan is that my dad should have 3 months of Gemzar/Cisplatin, followed by 1 months break and then neobladder surgery! We're going to have the chemo over here in Ireland, we had only been offered MVAC over here so we need to get the chemo regime from SK in the states. We have a meeting here today to get an oncologist to work with us on this...I'll keep ye posted.

Thanks again for ye thoughts and prayers x

Newbie,

As it was explained to me, leaving the bladder inside was like having a ticking time bomb. The chances of recurrence become insanely high. Keeping my crappy old bladder was something I wanted to do, too until I realized that the stress of dealing with waiting for the cancer to return was going to be far worse than anything they'd create in surgery. Besides, by they were finished with 4 resections of the original bladder, I'm not sure there was much wear and tear left in the original bladder.

On the bright side, 55 is pretty young and your dad is probably in pretty good shape, even with the cardiac history. When they tell you about the reconstruction surgery it sounds really scarey and I had SERIOUS doubts they could make intestine behave like a bladder. Well, it actually does work (and pretty darn nicely, too).

If they are recommending taking out the old bladder, second opinions are always a good idea and it sounds like that's just what you're doing. In the end though, he will be so much happier not having to worry every day about how long he's got with the old bladder. At least with the neobladder or other options, there is a possibility to relax a bit between follow-up screenings and a much higher chance of long term survival.

Each person has to decide for themselves, but the reconstruction surgery is not nearly as bad as it initially sounds.

Hope this helps, and best wishes for you and your dad. If you have any questions I can help with, I am happy to help.

Christine

dr bochner must be a very busy doc..has had my slides for aweek and havent heard anything..even after repeated calls..they must hate to hear its me again on phone

best of luck to "newbie's" dad
please let us know how he makes out

Just so you know Newbie and her father are on a plane right now as we speak flying over from Ireland to consult with Dr. Bochner at MSK in NYC. I hope we'll hear from her soon.
Pat