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Can someone enlighten me?
Hi everyone. My dad had gross hematuria just before christmas. It hurt him upon urination and there was quite a lot of blood he said although i know that it can sometimes look as though there is a lot. The doc tested his urine and prescribed him antibiotics for an infection. Eventually the pain stopped although it was never really that bad but the blood was still visible. They took another urine test and then referred him to an oncologist ( is that right?). He had to have a cystoscopy where they told him that he had a “red area” they wanted to look at but he would have to have a general anesthetic for it. After this he had a ultrasound scan and a test where they injected dye into his body (sorry, don’t know all the technical terms!). Well, he had to go into the hospital a week and a half ago where they did a biopsy. He was allowed home the same day as he didn’t need a catheter and everything went ok. I’m really not happy though with the lack of information they gave him and my mother. Unfortunately, my mom and dad tend to plod along and just do as they’re told. Would i be right to say that what my father had was a TURBT? And if this is the case does that mean that he definitely has cancer or would they do this even if they suspected it might be? Also, if it looked like cancer, would they cut away all of the suspected area? He hasn’t had his results yet and of course we are all out of our minds with the worry. Its such a stressful time and incredibly scary as you all obviously know! By the way, the blood in his urine cleared up about 4 or 5 weeks ago although i know that this can happen even if you’ve got cancer. Can someone please shed some light on this for me. Any info would be much appreciated. Thank you and take care. Debs.
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6 Replies
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cheers matey. right back at you!
Tim :)
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Tim that is a %110 positive comment there my friend right on the button and very well written. I view many of your posts and you are very intelligent when it comes to your knowledge of this disease. Keep up the great work you are an asset to this board and I have learned a few things from your post as well. Please don’t be afraid to have a fan ;) Your Friend, Joe
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Glad to help Debs. And thanks Joe. I think! ;)
Tim
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Well Tim who I am now referring to as Dr. Tim :) answered all your questions to the tee. As far as the ultra sound the red dye is referred to as a contrast and allows the Dr. or whoever is doing that paticular test a clearer view of the area. Wishing You The Best, Joe
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Thank you so much Tim for your reply. Its made me understand it all a bit more. My dad is seeing a consultant urological surgeon so i guess thats ok. Thanks again for your input and i’ll let you know how things progress. Take care. Debs x
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Debs
Lots of people here have had your dads experience, including me, so here’s my bit! I’m sure others will add to it. You’re in the zone now where you’re all waiting for news so being apprehensive is normal and understandable. It’s an unnerving time for you all. TURBT stands for Trans Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumour and means that material that may be a bladder tumour has been taken from your dads bladder. Having said that (a) it may not be tumour (I’ve had red areas biopsied that aren’t anything but red areas) and (b) even if it is, there’s still a range of possibilities.Tumours are normally graded from 1 to 3, 1 being least aggressive, 3 being most. In addition the “Stage” of any tumour will be assessed with the biopsy sample. The stage describes how far the tumour has infiltrated the bladder and will have a bearing on what treatment is used and the prognosis for your dad. It may well be that your father could have an early stage tumour which can just be treated with a TURBT and a “watch and wait” protocol or the medics may prescribe some further therapy such as a bladder wash with Mitomycin or BCG or some other therapy. Really, until you get these details it’s hard to say and the field is wide open. But when you do, please let us know and we’ll all, I’m sure, do our best to help you guys understand and deal with this situation.
It’s normal for surgeons to remove all of the bladder tumour if they can. If it’s an area, then this may be more difficult and they may just take a sample of it to decide what to do next. There are areas of flat tumour called CIS (carcinoma in situ) that it’s best to remove using a wash of special medicine into the bladder.
It’s pretty normal for the bleeding wih a tumour to come and go. I had a year between my “bleeds” when I was at your dads stage of treatment. And, yes, I’d hope any resonsible medical team would do these tests whether they thought it was cancer or not. Frankly, it’d be more scary if they didn’t! In the meantime, it’s quite important for you guys not to go crazy with worry; no easy task. For me waiting is amongst my worst experience with this illness. I’m sure once you get the results back, whatever they are, it’s better to know what you are dealing with and good to be moving forwards.
“Oncologist” is right too. And it’s good if he’s under a Uro Oncologist. It means a cancer specialist specialising in urinary tract issues.
All the best and keep us posted
Tim
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