Can someone answer a few questions about staging?

Dear Ginger,

I am almost positive that you mean "grade III", stage T2. T refers to the clinical stage, meaning pre-op assessment and is less reliable than a post-op cystectomy specimen. That is when they change to "P" stage, or pathological, and it can be upstaged as well as downstaged during bladder removal, and is more accurate than any "T" stage can be.

Most T2 and up tumors are high grade, are grade III. That points to the aggressiveness of the cells and since T2,3 and 4 are known as invasive tumors they are almost always of high grade.

Take care,
Wendy

Thanks Pat. I m so glad to find this web cafe. You don't feel so alone.
Maybe my husband will read it soon as well.
Ginger

Ginger....we were all scared, concerned, and unsure.....i was Stage 2 T2 and through the muscle wall.....its now 4 l/2 yrs later and i'm doing great. Keep the faith...you're at a great place...........Pat
see my note to you under your original post.........

Well I can tell you my husband just got diagnosed with Stage 3 T2. The tumor invaded the muscle inside the bladder. He is suppose to have his bladder removed at the Cleveland Clinic in 3 weeks. We are concerned, we are scared, and we are unsure of what it will be like afterwards. I can tell you stage 111 unlike stage 0,1 and 2, usually means removal. That been told to us by 3 specialists. Ginger

I do have some advice on staging that comes from personal experience.

Do NOT become preoccupied with staging or Relative 5-year Survival Rates. It is so easy to forget that your husband is not a statistic or a point of a graph. Your husband is a young man who has had a bad hand dealt to him, but is also fortunate enough to be living close to top-notch treatment and care. We also live in the greatest time in history as far as cancer treatment is concerned. There is a lot to be hopeful and optimistic about.

Find out his staging and treatment options and look forward. Right now you're filled with fear, panic and confusion. As we all were. But after you and your husband and your doctor talk and develop and an action plan for your husband's treatment, you'll feel better. It takes a lot of courage to move forward in the face of uncertainty, but you'll not only feel better, it's your only option.

A question--the N1 means it has spread to a lymph node, and the M1 means it has spread to another organ. In a man, this is usually the prostate. Have they done a biopsy to confirm this, or is this information from CT scans?

I'll post more later after I've given this some more thought.

Zach

momof4....on the Home page where it says Read this First...it will give you all the explanations of your husbands staging.