-
Bladder Cancer or Bladder Stones?
Hi I apologize, I am new to this, I just wanted to onto this forum before I left work. I am 40 years old, diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010. I had my right testicle removed, and cancer has gone into remission since last Feb. However, in December I had all the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer….blood in urine/painful urination etc. Urinated all last month was the most painful experience of my life.The pain has dissipated a bit over the past weeks. however there is still blood in my urine and slight discomfort. I have a cystoscopy next week (very terrified of procedure) but now i’m reading up on bladder stones and the symptoms are similar. Has anyone experienced this? I am a very active, fit, healthy firefighter. Don’t smoke and drink occasionally.
Again my apologies, I will read the following posts as soon as I get home. Thanks in advance for anyone’s advice/opinions and help.
-
3 Replies
-
Great! Thank-you for your help to make this process less confusing.
-
Ram,
I will chime in as a male. I consider the cystoscope more a nuisance. Fun? No. More uncomfortable than a lot of pain. 2 minutes worth-maybe. Afterward, urinating may burn for a few voids due to irritation and that is about it. It is worth the peace of mind to hear “no problems”, and I hope that is also what you will hear.
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.
Sorry to have to welcome you here, and we will be keeping good thoughts that you won’t stay!
HOWEVER, you need to read the following:
http://menshealthnetwork.org/library/What_firefighters_need_to_Know.pdf
There are very few absolutely “known” things that carry an increased risk of bladder cancer…smoking is one…and a career as a firefighter is another,.That being said, it is also important to remember that bladder cancer, caught early, is highly curable.
If you are having cystoscopy next week, that is not such a big deal (of course, I am female….men tend to complain about it more than women.) The urologist will place a very small camera-tip into the bladder and examine it. If he sees any signs of abnormality, he will schedule you for a TURB (transurethral resection of the bladder) where he will basically do the same thing but will cut out samples to be sent to a pathologist for analysis. Only after the pathologist sends back his report will you know for sure what you might be facing. This report will tell the urologist and you whether the tissue is indeed malignant, if so whether it is high grade (rapidly growing) or low grade (slow growing) and how far it has gone into the bladder lining or muscle.
Only after your and your doctor review the results will you know for sure that you do or do not have bladder cancer and if so, start to plan your treatment.
We will be keeping our fingers crossed for you,
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum ModeratorSign In to reply.
