Questions Regarding Chemo & Surgery

I have to agree with you Mike. To attempt such an operation at 86 years will be very hard on the patient. My husband was just under 70 when he passed the operation and it is a long long recovery. My husband was athletic and a very strong person physically...

Talk with your Oncologist to see if there is an alternative solution...Your Mum could go through radical surgery and later find that there were rogue cells which spread. This unfortunately happened to my husband.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your Dear Mother.

Danielle

All good AND tough questions. It can take 6-12 months to be "fully" recovered from surgery.
That is to really feel %100 percent again. I think I was about 75% for a number of months.

That seems to be the general. On census of the research I've seen and the folks who post here.
That's not for 86 year olds.

No magic answer but you and she seem to be thinking about the right questions.

Good luck!
Mike

Thanks Sara Anne - I know many people get through the surgery and do well. I suppose it's mom's age that concerns us. At 86, she's realistic that her years are somewhat limited - even if she were perfectly healthy.

Our concern is IF she can survive such a major surgery at this age - and if so, what is the length of time it would take her to recuperate from it to life "back to normal" - The doctor says up to two weeks in the hospital and then a rehab facility unless she has round the clock care at home for some undetermined period of time.

In other words, how long does a recovery back to a "normal" life take for people at various ages.

I haven't read here of too many people in their 80s who have had the surgery, but would love to hear if there are some.

Mom doesn't want to "waste" precious time on surgery with a lengthy recovery period when her expected life span is somewhat limited to begin with. Not sure if I'm making sense. She won't have the quality of life she is now accustomed to, nor will she be happy if she has to spend half of the time she may have left anyways recovering from this major event.

So she is wondering how long she would live should she get through the chemo and forgo the surgery.

Thanks again and comments are more than welcome. So many questions. Mary

Greetings - Haven't been here in a few weeks, and I have a few questions. A quickie background - Mom had a tumor in her bladder which was removed. Doc said it had invaded the muscle, but nothing to indicate it had spread outside her bladder. He suggested chemo and then surgery near the end of the year to remove her bladder.

Mom went in yesterday for her last chemo of Cycle #1 of 4 cycles. She has Gemzar (Monday) and Cisplatin (Tuesday) the first week and then just the Gemzar the next Mondays, and then a week off, making up one cycle.

So prior to her treatment yesterday, they checked her blood as usual and said she couldn't have the treatment because her platelets were so low. So I took her in today to have a blood transfusion. So I'm wondering if this is a good thing, bad thing, or nothing to be too worried about. Looking on the web, it doesn't sound very uncommon. They told me that the chemo must be working if Mom needed blood only after 3 chemo sessions.

So I'm wondering what anyone knows about the transfusions and if indeed it is fairly commonplace.

The next question I have is regarding the surgery. I guess we are trying to decide whether or not to have it. Mom is a very active and independent 86 year old who lives alone, drives, quilts, is politically active as well as active in several other groups - so not what many typically think of a person her age being. She understands that we're all going to die - so is trying to weigh the pros and cons of undergoing this MAJOR surgery once chemo is done. It's the quality vs. quantity thing.

I know there is no cookie cutter answer for the questions I ask. I've gotten good feedback from the good folks here before, so thought I'd pick your brains again. Thanks so much and hugs to all. Mary