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Bladder Tumor Found few days ago- speed of growth?
I had a cystoscopy 3 days ago and a small tumor was found. My Urologist scheduled to remove it in 30 days. Could it grow into the muscle by then. He said it was very small and seemed superficial.
Am I waiting too to have the surgery to remove it or should I go to an emergency and have it done as fast as possible? -
10 Replies
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I was sent by my urologist to have my treatment scheduled by a team that specializes in high grade bladder cancer. Radiation and chemo were chosen as I am not a good surgical candidate for removing the bladder and replacing it with a bag or new bladder made from the intestines. I have completed the radiation and chemo and, so far, no new cancer found, but will be checked every three months for life. While removing the bladder is a last resort for me, it is certainly a viable option for most.
Ssw
Hi Sara Anne, thanks again for your wise advice and consultation. I shouldn’t have switched urologist which was a mistake. Because the first urologist ended up being better than the second. So I’m stuck with the second one to do the TUR B procedure. From what I understand this is a very routine an easy procedure for any urologist. I just want to have confidence in him. He seemed a bit overconfident Cavalier and slightly egotistical which kind of concerns me. But I suppose since the procedure is so routine I shouldn’t worry. I just want to make sure I ask them exactly what is going to do before the operation when I’m on the Surgery table because when I first saw him you wanted to do some prostate work at the same time of the TURBT. After he did the initial cystoscopy he said he’ll do or two and one operation. He TURP and a TU RB at the same time. When I said I didn’t want the TURP. He got very upset and said that I could die have kidney failure or destroy my bladder. So I stupidly signed the consent for both. A couple of days later I phoned’s office and canceled the TURP.’s office said that’s fine and I’ll only have the one procedure for the bladder resection. This whole experience of changing urologist has been very stressful. So I really want to make sure that he’s only going to do the one operation that I consented to I’m not anything else. If I do a final confirmation with him before he does the surgery should that be enough? His office assures me I’m only getting one procedure for the bladder.
Hi Richard, thanks for that. It really helps puts my mind at ease. I guess the average growth rate isn’t that fast. I’m supposed to get mine out soon about two weeks more. I switched urologist which wasn’t a good idea. It Delayed the procedure by about 40 days. It’s great that your Dad went through the whole thing very quickly. All his appointments seem to happen almost one after another. My GP minimized my diagnosis when she saw a report from the urologist. And that inturn made me go to another urologist and waste time. Happy your Dad’s experience worked out tremendously.
Hello,
I researched this topic when my dad was diagnosed with a bladder tumor.
His tumor’s size was first diagnosed to be 3cm (huge!)
The doctor said it was growing for about 2 years.
The average tumor growth is 1.4mm (millimeters) per month.
Dad’s tumor didn’t go into muscle, so it was great news for us. It was growing like a mushroom and could be easily scraped off.
Dad first complained about frequent urination in late December, went to see GP in January, then went to Uro in late Jan, then multiple more visits to CT, Ultrasound, Cystoscopy and in late Feb had a successful TURBT. (And a few days ago in mid April had 2nd TURBT and doctor said “it looked really good”)
Welcome back, Jones! Do hope that this time you have a urologist in whom you have confidence. It is extremely unlikely that whatever is there has grown significantly in a month or so. As we discussed before, it has probably been growing with no symptoms for years.
Your symptoms could be from bladder cancer (irritation in the bladder can cause this) but are not worrisome since you are having this taken care of. Could also be BPH since most males end up with this at one time or another.
You are doing all the right things and worrying about “what ifs” cannot change anything.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Hi Sara Anne, I’m back on here because I regrettably ended up changing Urologists and Hospitals which now delayed the TURBT I was suppose to have had on Mar 20th. The new date for the surgery is May 10th. I just hope that the delay did not let the tumor grow much bigger. The Uro said it was about or less then 5mm non-invasive and very differentiated. Though I am still worried.
Also Ive had BPH type symptom for over 6 months , frequent urination, Urination at night and some retention. I’m wondering if that could be caused by the lesions which are near the bladders left orifice area?
sswellborn,
Welcome. None of us are doctors so any ideas of how fast a certain tumor can grow would simply be an uneducated guess. You are right in aggressively attacking this especially graded as high and into the muscle.
I have a big question at the risk of creating a quandry for you. Hopefully others will chime in. Why is your URO doing radiation? Type of tumor? Is this his/her normal protocol? Have they talked about cystectomy and are there other issues?
The reason I ask questions is IF a cystectomy is the end game, radiation can make this more complicated. Radiation is not a regular regimen as it can damage tissues used in that operation. Are you being treated at a center that sees a lot of bladder cancer? This is a treatable and beatable disease, like your breast cancer but, it needs to be attacked properly.
Keep posting as others should see this and add insight.
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.
I don’t want to scare anyone, but don’t wait if at all possible. While some tumors grow slowly, some grow excedingly quickly. I am now in my second cancer recovery and had I waited either time, the results would have been far worse. My breast cancer was the size of a BB and everyone I counseled said “wait.” Luckily, I didn’t. The cancer had already spread to two lymph nodes and was the most aggressive type there is. I would have been dead within a year had I waited, and that was 18 years ago.
This time, I noticed blood in my urine the first of February, 2018. Tested, CT scanned and 3 cm tumor found. Surgery March 1 and the tumor was 9cm long and had invaded the muscle wall for a High Grade, T2 staging. My daily radiation and once weekly chemo starts Monday and, after 33 rounds of radiation, the “real” chemo to attack the cells in my blood starts. I do not yet know the timing for that treatment.
Ssw
Thank you! I was thinking I should go to the emergency at another hospital and see if it could be done right away. I guess I’m overreacting and should go with the scheduled procedure in 30 days. I was imagining that it could grow into the muscle more within 30 days. So I assume the growth is extremely slow and 30 days want to make a difference.
Thirty days is not an unusual time for scheduling a TURB. Whatever is there has been there for a long time, even if it was not apparent. You will be fine.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
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