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Merry Christmas
To Some Very Special People;
I was diagonosed with Bladder Cancer on January 26, 2006. The diagonosis was TA- Grade 3 with no muscle involvement. Since then there have been no recurrences. There was the initial BCG and maintenance therapy. I know there is a substantial possibility that the cancer will return and upstage. I was and continue to be afraid. I do not know what the future holds for me. I pray that there are definative steps and progress made to define this disease and treat it more effectively. I am thankful there is this resource and that there are people who will sacrifice their time and resources to listen and to help others. At this special time I offer prayers that each of you will be protected, sheltered and that God grants mercy and compassion. I want to thank each of you for being there for me and for your courage. Have a blessed Holiday.
Jack And Melanie
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20 Replies
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The responses in this thread have touched my heart. In the face of all our uncertainty, fears, burdens (financial and otherwise)there is so much hope here. The holidays are a powerful force. The spirit of compassion, hope and peace are called forth. Thank you for sharing yours with me and I wish peace, courage, strength (or whatever it is you need) and all good things to you and yours.
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When you go through the advanced stage of this cancer it is powerful, mean, and evil, and certainly there is no no good cancer to get at all. If you got a low stage of BC I pray that your stage never upgrades. Regards, Joe ;)
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Happy Holidays Jack and Melanie, I wish you well for the future.
Maria xx -
Just wanted to add my Happy Holidays to all in this thread, everyone certainly has there issues, maybe santa will supply some relief to one and all…we can only hope!!!! Ginger Beane
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lhpdogs,
Fully agree, Every time i have a down day, I keep trying to remind myself that whatever is happening in the waterworks dept. I still have two legs , two arms ,two eyes, two ears , and that is a hell of a lot more than many others on this earth.If there is one good thing that comes from being diagnosed with bladder cancer, it is that it makes us appreciate how lucky we all are to be able to sit back and realise how precious life is.
Love to all ,
Flamenco -
Those of us dealing with Metastatic Bladder Cancer are in the Ring with every prize fighter since 1900! They are on a tag team, and we are just sitting there getting our heads bashed in..I agree that we have to accept our own fate…but we don’t have to like it…The holidays just emphasize how much we mean to each other and how short life really is…Auld Lang Syne at the New Year…oh man is it tough! If you are dealing with a Bladder Cancer that is curable…God Bless you this Season…If you are dealing with a Terminal Cancer, God Bless you and everyone you know…I will be offering up prayers for all of us to put our lives in perspective, and be Thankful for what we do have, or don’t have as the case may be….
Better to be Alive than Dead.
Better to be Surviving than Dying.
Better to be Alone than with someone who doesn’t deserve us.
Better to be Healthy than Sick.
Better to be fighting, than giving up too soon.
Better to be at Peace with your Life, than constantly fighting with it…It is going to happen anyway, might as well roll with the punches.God Grant us All Peace, with whatever our individual lives hold…
Caregiver for my Wonderful Husband Angelo, who has Metastatic Bladder Cancer.Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
IHPDOGS, nicely said. I received my pathology findings on Friday with PTA low grade superficial non invasive papillatory cancer. I will see my doctor next week to see what my treatment will be. He told me this was a nice christmas gift.
Joe
And I don’t mean to trivialize anyone’s diagnosis in any way, but I like to keep thinking about what my urologist said when he delivered my diagnosis: “if you are going to have any kind of cancer, this is the best kind”.
Now I know I was only TaG1, and haven’t had a recurrence in 20 months, but I think of all the people who are diagnosed every day with breast cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, leukemia, brain cancer… and I think about what my doctor said, and I think he’s right… because now I like to tell myself that God gave me THIS one to deal with, and perhaps he won’t challenge me with any other kind…
Until it’s very advanced, our kind of cancer doesn’t require systemic chemo (almost as bad as the Big C itself for most people); it doesn’t outwardly disfigure us, and they CAN make us new bladders if it comes to that. They can’t do that for lungs and livers and pancreases (sp?) yet…
If you are having trouble with the sense of fear that never leaves you, try to remember that if we compare bladder cancer to, say, boxing – we are not stuck in a ring with a 250 lb. Mike Tyson look-a-like; our enemy may look more like Woody Allen!! 8)
I hope I made someone smile more and worry less… Bless you! ;)
TaG1 12/05
3 recurrences
BCG started 9/09
CONNIE;
SORRY YOUR FEELING BLUE….WISH I COULD HELP.
SOMETIMES LIFE DEALS US SEVERAL BAD HANDS.
THIS IS MY SECOND BOUT WITH CANCER…HAD COLON CANCER,KIDNEY FAILURE
AND HEART PROBLEMS IN 2000…SURVIVED THAT.
SO IT’S POSSIBLE THAT SOMETHING GOOD WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.
I SEE FROM YOUR PICTURE THAT YOU ARE A LOVELY WOMAN…
TAKE THE WORD OF A GUY THATS BEEN ON THIS EARTH FOR AWHILE,
THINGS WILL START TO GO YOUR WAY SOON.
PRAYING THAT YOU HAVE GOOD FORTUNE,
MAX
;)
Max
Age 70
Ta G2
Dx March 2007
Connie;
I started this thread on 12/9/2007. The replies have been minimal but the message has been read over 200 times. That means to me that people care about us and love us. I anguish, like you do, over the disease and its potential consequences. The fear rushes in sometimes and makes me catch my breath. When I ride along the ocean I see the sun on the waves and feel the crisp salt air on my face. We may be alone with our disease and how we deal with it but we are not alone in the support that is available to us. This venue is very special with very special people who share our fears and lonliness. Continue to reach out to them and something special will happen this Christmas.
I have been assured by people on this site that the Ta-Grade 3 disease is dangerous albeit there have been those of us who have never had a recurrence and those who have progressed but are doing very well. Have faith that the God that made the sun shine on the ocean can and does heal. Each of us are special. Sometimes we forget that.
Merry Christmas
Laubsman (Jack & Melanie)
Joe,
I’ll let you know if something nice happens to me over the holidays. :)
Connie
Well Connie I had no idea you were feeling this way
Every kind word helps
So I’ll say it again Merry Christmas and maybe something nice will happen to you over the holidays. Joe ;)
Rosemary & Connie,
I’m listening. Wish I could do more. There are definitely things in life that can be tougher than dealing with cancer, and they don’t help when you are dealing with cancer. I do hope you have a Merry Christmas – and even a happy Hannukah :D.
-Warren
TaG3 + CIS 12/2000. TURB + Mitomycin C (No BCG)
Urethral stricture, urethroplasty 10/2009
CIS 11/2010 treated with BCG. CIS 5/2012 treated with BCG/interferon
T1G3 1/2013. Radical Cystectomy 3/5/2013, No invasive cancer. CIS in right ureter.
Incontinent. AUS implant 2/2014. AUS explant 5/2014
Pediatrician
Connie,
I’m not going to try to talk you out of the blues. I know how you feel.
But I do want to tell you that I think you are lucky to live alone. I live with my 85 year old Mother and sometimes it’s very, very hard.
There is this house that I want, that I asked Santa to give me for Christmas. It costs $675,000. Right.
I applied for a promotion this year that I was very qualified for and that would have helped me stay on top of medical bills, much less to buy my dream home. My boss gave it to someone else (for political reasons) and she’s doing quite the sloppy job, but, I knew she would. Plus, she has a bread winning husband to help her out in life So, for me, I stay alone (with my 85 year old Mother) & the medical bills keep coming in, and I keep treading water….
I try my best to put a humorous spin on my situation. What else can I do? I put a humorous spin on my situation and I continue to have faith that God loves me and will look out for me and keep me safe. He’s kept me safe thusfar….
So, here is my dream home, and here is Santa that I took with me so he could see what I wanted. This home was built in 1880 and has a beautiful garden and a painted wall mural and a Paula Dean kitchen.
The bottom two photos are from my day yesterday at a down east Christmas celebration where I rubbed elbows with millionaire couples with dream homes and who also do not have the Sword of Damocles (cancer) hanging over their heads.
But, I think I may have enjoyed the day just as much as they did…
Rosemary
Age – 55
T1 G3 – Tumor free 2 yrs 3 months
Dx January 2006
Some of us find it hard to live life to the fullest with the medical profession taking all our disposable income. Can’t afford to leave my apartment except to go to work, the library, and occasionally the grocery store…well, other than to the doctor, of course. :-
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