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exercise/rehab following bladder removal surgery
Posted by Swag on December 28, 2010 at 12:23 amDiagnosed with muscle invasive bladder cancer last week. Surgery to remove bladder and prostate scheduled for this week . All things going well i will have a neo bladder. I am 48yr male and reasonably fit . I am a firefighter in Australia and came across this website by luck. It is fantastic to read other peoples experience . I would like to know when exercise can be resumed post operation and hear some personal accounts regarding this matter if possible . Is it at all likely i could resume active work following surgery? (all things going well)Has anyone returned to physical employment and what can be expected? Thanks in advance
replied 14 years ago 11 Members · 31 Replies -
31 Replies
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GuestJanuary 31, 2011 at 8:35 pm
empty”/nnHey just joining, glad to be in! I glimpse forward to partcipating and have study a whole lot so far, so hello!
I’ve been concerned in some other forums and have found this site to have substantially much better subject matter, so it helps make sense to as a final point submit!
BTW, what can I do to change the time zone for my account? It’s kind of weird having the time like 5 hours off lol
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Swag; It is daunting to everyone. Sorry you have to go through all that. I really hope you have someone to support & comfort you through this whole process. Been there, done that on the port, it’s better then all the needles and pokes and it is not that uncomfortable, you won’t mind it. As for your Dr. saying it will come back. He don’t have a crystal ball, any cancer can come back. No one knows. You give it your best shot and try to stay positive, keep fighting. I had both bone cancer and lung cancer ten years apart odds were they were suppose to come back. They
did not. So don’t let that odds stuff get you down. I always looked at it this way, ” even if my odds were only 5% that it wouldn’t come back, someone had to fall in that 5%, why not me?
Wishing you the best.
Duke -
Hello to everyone once again.
Thankyou for all the posts regarding best wishes and advice/information.I saw the oncologist yesterday.My chemo is to commence on 1/2/2011.It should run for 3-6 months depending on response to drugs(Carboplatin and gemcitabine).Radiation treatment will be used if my body , due to surgery, can tolerate. It is likely i will have a port installed in my chest for drugs and blood to be taken. Its all a little daunting at the moment.It seems to be happening so quickly . Please don’t misunderstand me.I am looking forward to the positive effects chemo offers and still remain positive.The oncologist is of the opinion that the cancer will return at some stage so i am hoping to prove him wrong .I fortunately have not been directly affected by the extensive flooding in Australia.I have a few friends who have lost homes or had minor/major damage. They all remain positive and are inspirational to me.
Cheers for now
Swag -
Hi swag,
Hope things are going well. Chemo is such a mixed bag as everyone is different. Your diet for post surgey to get your bowels working againg might also help during chemo if your system fights a little. Another thing that my doctor pushed every visit was stay away from sick people, the chemo compromises your immune system. The surgery is done, so the most painful part is done. The
chemo is not fun but it sounds like it is getting more tolerable as time moves along.Keep us up to date, and get better!
Bill
5.24.10 Final staging T2G3 7.28.10 Started Gemcitabine, Cisplatin neoadjunctive chemotherapy
11.2.10 RC with NEO 11.18.11 First year CT shows possible liver tumor
12.8.11 Confirmation of TCC BC mets to the liver 6.27.12 Final round of Dose Dense MVAC
7.26.12 Final scans showed no tumor or no metabolic response10.18.12 Wife leaves, now a single dad
10.31.12 New scans show metastic return to liver 2.4.13 New scans for treatment, no other sites found
2.20.13 New chemo regiment started, will run at least 12 weeksSwag, sure am sorry to read of your cancer. I Just wanted to respond a little about your chemo Question. It is all different. It depends on what chemo they use and how your body reacts to it.
That said, you just need to take it one day at a time, try to eat when you’re up to it, try to drink as much water as you can to wash those chemicals out of your system. Walk as much as possible and worry as little as possible! Remember the human body is a lot tougher then one believes, so if you can’t eat for a while or whatever, don’t stress over it to much. Try to accept as much chemo as you can stand. There is a fine line they are trying to walk, trying to kill the cancer without killing you.
There comes a point in time where we are no longer in control. You just fight one day at a time and do the best you can.
Wishing you the very best!
DukeSwag
I did keymo before my ileal conduit surgery so you may have a very different mix.
I took notes when I had Doc visits so I checked to see what my keymo included:
Methotrexate MTX
Vinblastine
Adriamycin
Cisplatin
I had no side effects from this other than the expected hair (& beard) loss.
About this time we had a family gathering for one of the kids birthday. I got the youngsters together and asked them what it was that made me a GREAT uncle. One boy guessed it was because I’m so old! No, I said. It is because your great uncle mike can do things that no one else can do. I can do things that no one else on earth can do! With that I reached up and grabbed a handful of hair and removed it! Wow! The kids marveled and were delighted as I displayed a large chunk of my white hair. At our Christmas family gathering one little girl wanted to pull my hair to see if she could do it.I did the keymo fine. I did the ileal conduit surgery fine. It has been 8 months and the bag still gives me fits. The bag has been my biggest challenge of the whole ordeal.
I sincerely hope that your family and friends have been safe from the flooding there. The news reports I’m seeing are really bad.
I’m 70, retired heat/air contractor. After 4 months of keymo ileal conduit (IC) surgery removed bladder & prostate May 2010Spam removed. Deleting text of my post to report it.
Best wishes… CatherineTURBT 1/21/10 at age 55
Dx: T2aN0M0 Primary Bladder Adenocarcinoma
Partial Cystectomy 2/25/10
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Nashville, TNSwag
I hope you are recovering physically from your surgery. I am sorry to hear about your Chemo sessions though. We are all following your posts and wish you the best. Please take care of yourself and keep us close for anything. We car about your progress and you can just rant to us whatever is on your mind.
George
Light a man a fire and he is warm for an evening.
Light a man ON fire and he’s warm forever.08/08/08…RC neo bladder
09/09/09…New Hip
=
New Man! [/size]Swag,
You may want to start a new thread under the metastatic bladder cancer section with questions about chemo. I don’t have any experience in that area (and haven’t really studied that) so I’m sorry I don’t have much to offer.
Was cancer indicated in the lymph nodes and/or any other areas?
I think you may also want to find out from the oncologist exactly which chemo agents are going to be used. That information can help those who know more about this be a bit more specific in their advice.
Best of luck to you on the chemo and radiation.
Mike
Age 54
10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
1/2014 ct scan results….distant mets
2/2014 ct result…spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph system
My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ABLCS or anyone else. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.Hello
Thanks for comments.The cancer has advanced outside the bladder and chemo will commence upon recovery from surgery . The oncolgist in hospital indicated the chemo/radiation would run between 6-12 months.I understand everyone suffers different effects from chemo. Does anyone have suggestions on how to manage effects best as possible.ThanksSwag.. sorry the NEO was not an option for you, everyone is told that there are no guarantees until they open you up and take a peek inside. I am only familiar with the Ileal, but if you were (and sounds like you were) in good physical shape prior you should be able to a lot once fully recovered.
As for the sleeping issue: First of all you’ve just gotten out of surgery so don’t expect too much comfort regardless of the Ileal. It will take time. Second) For some reason I was not able to sleep well for several months after my surgery. I did not have continence problems, I just could not sleep. So be patient and be positive it will all come together after awhile. Oh, I sleep like a baby now… even better than before the operation.
My thoughts are with you… take it easy and know that the worst is over.
RudySwag. I’m glad the ileal conduit (IC) procedure was available for the doc to use in your case.
I toss & turn in my sleep so this led to a 3 AM ruptured bag & huge mess. This led to what I call (LBA) Leaky Bag Anxiety. This is my term- not the Docs! LOL I could only sleep 30 to 60 minutes at a time. I would check my bag to be sure draining was normal. To solve this I moved my sleeping to the living room sofa. The drain tube looped over the sofa cushion (T shaped) and the container was hidden in a basket at the foot end of the sofa. The drain tube coiled up in the basket out of sight during the day. My favorite TV viewing position (head on left elbo) and my sleeping position are pretty much the same and I don’t worry about night time leaks now and I can get a full night of sleep on my left side or my back. I realize this is kind of a goofy approach to a problem but it’s working for me & might for you.
I’ve moved that sofa into the den & put a TV in there.
I’m 70, retired heat/air contractor. After 4 months of keymo ileal conduit (IC) surgery removed bladder & prostate May 2010Hello swag,
Sorry to hear about the outcome. My doctor made sure that I totally understood that an Ileal conduit might be an option during surgery since there’s no guarantee of what the cancer has done. The surgery is the worst part of the journey and your past that.
Talk to your doctor about returning to work. There’s really no reason why it might be a problem after you get back up to speed, but again ask your doctor.
Do you have a big comfy couch or recliner? I had to do that until the catheter came out.
Get better and keep us up to date!
Bill
5.24.10 Final staging T2G3 7.28.10 Started Gemcitabine, Cisplatin neoadjunctive chemotherapy
11.2.10 RC with NEO 11.18.11 First year CT shows possible liver tumor
12.8.11 Confirmation of TCC BC mets to the liver 6.27.12 Final round of Dose Dense MVAC
7.26.12 Final scans showed no tumor or no metabolic response10.18.12 Wife leaves, now a single dad
10.31.12 New scans show metastic return to liver 2.4.13 New scans for treatment, no other sites found
2.20.13 New chemo regiment started, will run at least 12 weeksSwag,
Sorry to hear it was worse than anticipated. Not sure I would write off being able to get to full active duty again unless the doc said something to you about it. You can still do everything, just with the bag attached.
I’d check with the doc about prescribing a sleep aid if it continues to be a problem. It may just be it takes getting used to being in a different position than you were used to but it may not hurt to take sleeping pills for a bit.
I hope your recovery goes well!
Was the cancer still contained to the bladder or are you going to need chemo?
Mike
Age 54
10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
1/2014 ct scan results….distant mets
2/2014 ct result…spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph system
My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ABLCS or anyone else. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.Hello Swag… So sorry your diagnosis was worse than expected. The good news is that the major surgery is behind you and now you can concentrate on your recovery.
Best wishes… CatherineTURBT 1/21/10 at age 55
Dx: T2aN0M0 Primary Bladder Adenocarcinoma
Partial Cystectomy 2/25/10
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Nashville, TNSign In to reply.
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