Hi; I joined this site shortly before the rebuild and posted some in the invasive section. Haven't posted since then. At that time, I was set for RC with neobladder on Sept. 11, and had gone through the big decisions of partial vs. total, then what type of reconstruction. More I learned, total seemed to be the way to go.
Went in for pre-admission, at a nearby specialty cancer hospital (lucky to have one 2 miles from home), on Sept. 1. Everything looked good, including a cystoscope with the surgeon. Staging was t2, although he cautioned only the path on the lymph nodes could rule out involvement there.
Then, later that day, he called to tell me that the Ct showed spots in the lung. So the surgery's off, and he referred me to a medical oncologist, who saw me 2 days later. Had my second round of chemo yesterday.
So, that's why I've been scared to open this door. Big adjustment, getting prepared to deal with the major surgery, recuperation, and facing a percentage risk of recurrence that tapers off after a couple years... to the reality.
Going about as well as it can. The people at the hospital are very good. My family and job are supportive, I can work from home as needed, the kids are out of the house, and we have good health coverage.
That's about it, no questions, just introducing myself.
I'm going to take up the cause of trying to raise awareness for bladder cancer. My docs are keenly aware of how this disease doesn't get the level of attention it should. He pointed out that for men, it's the 4th most common. Where are the walks, ribbon colors, awareness weeks, celebrity spokespeople?
Obviously, this is the goal of the society and this site, so I certainly will keep that in mind and try to publicize it.