Worried about recurrence

Dear Folks;

Thank you for the kind responses. I (we) thought we had lost you. We have had a terrible year. Not so much with health but Melanie lost her job due to down sizing and we had to scramble. I had a BCG maintenance treatment on September 24, 2008 after a clean cysto and lab work. Just recently I have had increased urination and I complained to my uro but he did not seem overly concerned. My last cysto the doctor said that my bladder was pristine. Wow, I have never heard of a pristine bladder. I was wondering if anyone ever escaped the monster.

I am concerned about the frequency (some days normal) and I found Cyndi. Now, I see Warren here also. So I say hello and we wish you all happiness and health.

Mel And Jack
Santa Barbara, CA

Boy..this is really a tough one to answer.
We are all in the same boat.As far as I know,
there no "Secret" for coping with this disease.
Sooo..I would say enjoy the tme that you are
"Clean" and make the most of everyday.

I wish you GOOD LUCK!!
Max

For what it's worth, I'm TaG3 & CIS .... 7¾ years and never a recurrence after treatment with mitomycin C. This year I graduated from 6 month cystos to annual. I'll be happy if I manage that since I usually end up at the urologist with symptoms from my urethral stricture anayway.

Bladder cancer has the highest recurrence rate of any cancer. It's normal to be concerned about a recurrence in that situation. There is no "final clear point" in noninvasive bc. I know of people who had an initial diagnosis, and in some cases a recurrence soon after, but then no recurrence for 6 or 7 years, until there it is, back again. It seems all you can do is "go with the flow." (Pun intended)