Warm hello to all....

16 years 1 month ago #13144 by Rosemary
Replied by Rosemary on topic Warm hello to all....
Debbie,

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

I am really sorry to hear about your Mom (and your Dad)...

I asked my Urologist just last visit, "Why do women have such a worse survival record than men with Bladder Cancer?" And his answer was "Because they present so late." I had gross hematuria 8 years before my Dx and the Urolgist just poo-pooed it away. I learned to live with "tea" colored urine thinking it was from the vagina (menopausal stuff). My tumor must have been slow growing, because 8 years later, it was Dx'd at T1 G3 (which is still not the best news, but, it could have been worse...)

Good luck to your husband. Please keep us posted as to how things are going.

Best regards,
Rosemary


Rosemary
Age - 55
T1 G3 - Tumor free 2 yrs 3 months
Dx January 2006

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16 years 1 month ago #13140 by Patricia
Replied by Patricia on topic Warm hello to all....
Hi Debbie.....so sorry about your husbands diagnosis and the family history as well. To answer your question...yes its possible that a tumor was present without blood being present....sometimes you just don't recognize the signals. Sometimes the urine becomes almost a tea color but it never crosses your mind that its blood...other times it seems to be perfectly clear. I figure i had my tumor for about 3 yrs before i actually had gross hematura which certainly got my attention.
Size does not determine stage or grade. Mine was a single tumor quite small but pretty aggressive..T2..stage 2. I've heard of others with quite large tumors that were non-invasive...so you'll just have to wait for the pathology report to determine the next step. I will tell you that bladder cancer is a highly specialized field and you will want a uro/surgeon who is very experienced along with a great pathologist. So just take it one step at a time right now and see what pathology tells you.....the members here can guide you to the most experienced physicians and facilities.

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16 years 1 month ago #13139 by Debbie
Warm hello to all.... was created by Debbie
I am so happy to have found this site and as I read your stories, my heart goes out to each and every one of you.

My husband was just diagnosed with bladder cancer last week, although grade and stage is to be determined (surgery next week). You all are so informed and educated and I'm doing my best to speak your language. I hope this doesn't scare anyone, but my dear Mom died of bladder cancer. Her situation was very unique in that, during subsequent discussions with her doctor, she had very tiny clots in her urine and refused diagnosing the reason (you'd have to know my Mom and her denials about anything serious or scary). She never told any of us. My Dad was coping with (and eventually died from) prostate cancer at the time so it was just like Mom to keep the focus on him and deal with her issues later. By the time she was diagnosed, her cancer had metastisized and she passed quietly with us at her side.

Getting back to my husband, he went in for diagnoses in December after noticing one or two very small clots in his urine two months prior. My first question for those of you "in the know" is...is it possible to have cancer without noticing blood in the urine? In other words, could the tumor have been growing without his knowledge? We both had standard urine tests for insurance purposes in April of '07 and no report of any microscopic blood in his urine then. This is a question about timing...is 2-3 month delay in diagnosis a long time for bladder cancer?

My second question, if you'll indulge me, is his tumor is about 1.5cm, with another slightly smaller one next to it noticed during last week's cystoscopy. I read about tumor "size" and don't understand if it is significant or not, as well as number of tumors.

Thank you all so much for your support. I have to consider my husband's diagnosis separate from Mom's, but truly could not keep food down last week out of fear...it's been paralyzing. Whatever you all have to cope, I don't seem to possess and you are all amazing. My husband's urologist seems very good--invited me in during the cystoscopy to point out the tumor and answer questions--but new questions pop up.

You are all incredibly brave and an inspiration for hope.

Thanks, Debbie

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