Husband's biopsy confirmed metastatic bladder cancer in lymph nodes

5 years 3 weeks ago #57018 by ella2004
hi , im new to this forum
and my non invasive cancer has just returned I will start bcg in 4 weeks

But More Importantly , My heart breaks for You , Take it one day at a time , one hour at a time and always
one Prayer at a time , I will keep you in my prayers ,

all the best sincerely ,
mary

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5 years 3 weeks ago #56985 by Cynthia
Sorry you had to wait for an answer I also saw your post but have been busy having a grand baby. And I am also sorry you and your husband have to deal with this. The hope here is that it is local and not distant metastasis. I have seen cases where there has been response to chemo or immunotherapy,but time will only tell your husband outcome. When someone asks the question what to expect there is so many variables that no one can really answer the question with any certainty. So I will tell you a little bit of a story. Not only am I a survivor but I have a son who is a survivor of leukemia. I developed an opinion while I was going through treatment to always have a plan no matter what twist my cancer threw me. I decided that my goal was to make a plan that offered me dignity and compfort no matter what. I told my family if I had a reacurance and treatment was not helping that I would enter hospice that my choice would be quality over quantity. Once I knew what my potential path was it offered me a great deal of peace with the situation. I advised my son to think about the path he would chose and what his limits were and he found that it again offered him peace. Telling your loved ones or having your loved ones tell you their wishes is important for everyone. You may never need to put the plan into motion, and my son and I didn’t, but knowing is important. Talk to your health care team about palliative care and hospice if needed. Just knowing your options can help take a lot of stress out of wondering what if, know your options if you should ever need them.

We can not tell you what is a head but I can promise will be be here if you need us. Not many of us have faced your exact situation but we do know about what it is like to go through chemo and the such. Please keep us informed.

Cynthia Kinsella
T2 g3 CIS 8/04
Clinical Trial
Chemotherapy & Radiation 10/04-12/04
Chemotherapy 3/05-5/05
BCG 9/05-1-06
RC w/umbilical Indiana pouch 5/06
Left Nephrectomy 1/09
President American Bladder Cancer Society

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5 years 3 weeks ago - 5 years 3 weeks ago #56984 by Alan
Teachcc,

Welcome, I am sorry that you haven't had a response. I want to acknowledge that I have seen your thread. Not to say an excuse but, we are all volunteers and for myself I travel some so I don't have easy access to the internet at times.

Your husband has certainly been dealt a bad situation. Is your husband still ambulatory? The recurrence while it is not good news if there is still fight we all know people that have beaten cancer back. Only he can answer how hard to fight. It may simply be quality vs quantity debate on life. You do need a pat on the back as caregivers are a big part of the journey. Someone will be hear to listen.

Please do continue as others should be able to add to our discussion.

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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5 years 3 weeks ago #56983 by teachcc
Anyone out there? I've had no response. I know you can't cure him but I thought I could at least get some support. I guess this isn't a supportive forum either :( I was hoping to connect with even 1 person to talk to...guess I was wrong!

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5 years 3 weeks ago #56971 by teachcc
My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 muscle invasive bladder cancer last year. He began chemo but had a stroke halfway through so a radical cystectomy and prostrate removal was done in April. 14 lymph nodes were removed- all cancer free. He had been doing so well adjusting to his urostomy and all his scans had been great. Last month at his 9 mo scan enlarged lymph nodes in his abdomen. Today we found out the devastating news that the biopsy shows the bladder cancer is back. I'm struggling. (Really like losing it struggling) How can this happen after everything he's been through and was declared cancer free last spring? I've cried all evening. His oncologist can't give us a time frame of life expectancy. He is starting chemo in 2 weeks (letting his body recover from flu first) I guess to try to slow things down. My heart is just breaking. What can we expect? Is there hope at all that he could go into remission? I've tried praying and I do believe but my heart is torn tonight because we didn't get the news we prayed for so I'm struggling spiritually. I know everyone says this but this man is my life, my best friend and I don't want to live it without him. Our son is getting married in Nov. Has anyone dealt with recurring BC and had success or surpassed statistics. I just need some glimmer of hope to latch on to tonight. I would welcome any info or tips or anything if you have gone through this yourself or your the caregiver like me. Thanks in advance for listening and considering reaching out.

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