After biopsy

Good news again!

By the way, since you did NOT have bladder cancer, you should have no problem at all getting life insurance. A benign polyp doesn't even have to be listed on your medical conditions stuff as far as I know.

If it had been malignant...whole different story.

Mike

So just for completeness' sake, the remainder of the story is that I went in two weeks ago for the second cystoscopy, and the doctor very quickly spotted the polyp. He gave me the choice of doing a complete TUR right there or coming back for an anaesthetic procedure---it was very small, he said. Considering that this started with a stone and that I was already trussed up and be-endoscoped, I suspected I did not really need the anaesthetic and told him to do it.

It was the right choice. A few minutes of cutting and fulguration---felt like butterflies or something---and he had what really was a tiny speck out of me. Sent for pathology.

Anyway, the second pathology also agrees that it's a benign papilloma, but of course, it is not over---I must go for regular cystoscopies I guess indefinitely now. The chance in a patient of my age for it to turn to something malignant is thank God kind of low, but I am a Known Risk now, I guess. This is probably all not good for my prospects of getting life insurance, but whatever

That's Great news!!!

I guess I owe y'all an update. First, good news: I picked up my records and my final path report on the original TURB came in. Once again, benign papilloma with no detectible cytological atypia. Which is a relief, of course.

Of course if Hopkins does another TURB (which I'm guessing they will), I'll have to go through another round of anxiety. Oh, well, but the prior probability of it being worse than that is now somewhat lower.

I *am* grateful to the original doctor for noticing it. He has many years of experience, as I understand it, including a stint in academic medicine. But I was planning to leave his practice anyway because I got him on the luck of the draw on an ER referral when I came in with the stone, and for various reasons I realized he would not have been my first choice. Not least because he is far away...but now I'm going to an even farther doc, heh.

I got lucky, aside from the first ER episode I had an easy time of stone-passing...but even if this Great Odyssey For A Little Polyp ("polyp" make it sound so cute) hadn't happened, I would likely have had to find a urologist of my own choosing because, as non-life-threatening as they are...stones are highly likely to recur.

Anyway, thanks folks for pointing out how to go about dealing with this.

You do indeed owe a sincere "Thank You" to your General urologist. He was on the ball with his diagnosis. But I can spot a fault in an auto paint job..... but I am sure I would not be able to fix it. You need a surgeon that has fixed it before and will fix you. Your uro did a great job finding it. Now you need the right person to get it done.

I had a very similar experience with my Lifelong family doctor. He was laser quick scheduling tests. He was also very quick to get me to a bladder cancer specialist within 3 days. I still see him twice a year AND I thank him for saving my life! But we both know he was really looking out for me when he sent me to the guy who specialized in my type of cancer.

We hear so many stories about doctors who have failed to turn over the patient to a specailist and the patient suffers. I am so glad you found this site. Even though they pushed you to get to the cancer center very sternly.... They were just looking out for your welfare.... Well, actually, your life!

George

Yes, I am trying REALLY HARD to think of this kind of knowledge as a good thing. There's another half of me that wishes it were over with the kidney stone. Even though I'm leaving his practice I should be grateful to the general uro for finding it.

At the same time excessive anxiety is not good for health either...