Hello I am new here...

What makes them sure its in the lymph nodes?...That usually isn't discovered until they get in there. I also am female and had the same type and stage you have. My uro locally did not get the margins....i went to a major cancer center in NYC...(a get away last minute travel thing)...had a second biopsy and margins removed. This gave me a lot of time to decide on what sort of bladder i wanted. Look into the stats really well...neo-bladder works great with men ...percentages not as high as women. Talk to the centers that routinely do this surgery...i'm talking over l00 a year. Outcomes really much better . I'm four years with my Indiana Pouch done laproscopically at the Cleveland Clinic. You will get thru this...........Pat

Hello

I'm similar age to you and had a cystectomy last Oct and just want to reassure you that, on that count, there is a life beyond it that's good. There's lots of inspiration and support here for you. It's bad enough having to deal with the prospect of major surgery without the unknown of waiting for biopsy results. Let us know how you get on. I made myself dizzy reading literature both on the net and in books in the lead-up to my surgery. You can also freak yourself out. It was and still is important for me to remember that I'm not a statistic!

One important thing you mention is that you're just married which means you have a supportive partner to help you through this. I would have been a wreck without the support of my partner. That will go a long way towards getting you through this.

You take care and all the best

Tim

Hello

I've been lurking here since I was diagnosed 1/29/07 with invasive bladder cancer. The urologist did the tur thing and told me I would be good to go with some BCG treatments. I felt relieved until the path came back high grade and invasive into the muscularis propria. I called the pathologist to find out the stage - was told it was stage T2 but there was no clean margin, felt it would be staged higher if more material. The more I have read on here and other reputable sites, the more unsettled I became. I opted to get a 2nd opinion at the U of Wis Madison. Tomarrow I am having surgery for more biopsies - to see if bladder neck is ok, and get clean margins. Then hopefully it is onto a neobladder rather than an ostomy.I also have suspected lymphovascular invasion so the nodes will go when the neobladder gets done. 2 weeks and my life is crazy with this flippin' word - cancer. What a shock.

I was just married in December 06 , I am a 42 yo female. I feel so much but feel so numb as well. My heart goes out to all of you who have stared this thing down and support others thru it. I have been helped and I just want to say thenk you....you are in my prayers, sorry to meet you all here