Newly diagnosed Invasive..Need Support

Arthur will be joining us here. He was replying on another thread.


Thank you all for your replies.
I am in the Chicago area and will be treated at a University Hospital by a Urological Oncologist. Humpy,I am glad to know life should be and will be back to " normal" in about 6 months. Based on what I have heard from some others, I was expecting to still be recouperating at that time.

How long should be expected in the hospital? Any other things to look out or forward to that the Dr's don't talk about?

Once again thank you,
rgds
Arthur

Please heed KC's advice. If i had not gone to a University Hospital, I am convinced I would be dead now.
First, my cancer was understaged by my local Uro. He wanted to treat me with BCG. At U of M Ann Arbor,MI, I was told that my type of cancer wasn't even receptive to BCG.
Cancer centers, and University hospitals are in business to save lives.
Please tell us more about your situation.

Jim

Arthur,

I have had a neobladder for almost 4 years. The only thing different in my life now is that it takes me a little longer, and a little more effort to urinate than before. Other than that my life is completely normal and I am cancer free. As Jim stated, it takes about 6 months to get back to normal. I sound like a broken record on this site, but I will say it again. One of the most important things is to find the best surgeon you can. If you choose to have a neobladder, you want a surgeon who does many neobladders a year. The top surgeons do 50 to 100 or more a year. If you tell us where you live , Pat can recommend some of the best doctors and hospitals near you.

KC

Art

as has been said, one of the most important things to do for neobladder surgery is get to one of the top surgeons. It has a major impact on outcomes and those who do them all the time have patients that do better than others.

Ask anything that comes to mind.
Read threads from Rudyskier and Andy as they have both been through fairly recently.

Let us know what you need and we will do our best.

Where do you live and what was the result of your pathology in terms of stage and grade?

Mike

Art, I am 10 months postop with a Neobladder. Walk in the park? No. End of the world? No. What it comes done to, is about 3 months of inconvenience. By 6 months you will be saying, what was the big deal? I do everything now that I did before. Golf, Hockey, etc. It is not the end, it is the begining. There are alot fo great people here, and we will be by your side. Don't be afraid to ask anything. We have been there.

Jim

Arthur...where are you located?
First of all you want to be at a major university or Cancer center that is NCI designated. This is a complicated surgery and you want the best in the field.
Have you had a second opinion?
Tell us more.

Pat