Hello Cynthia,
Thank you so much for your response. I have been reading on-line about the ilieal conduit and the Indiana pouch and it seems to me that the pouch would be much more civilized. I absolutely do not want the conduit. It makes me cringe.
From what I know about this cancer, which isn't really very much, it was a very small tumor. Don't know where it was located, just know my urologist said that after 6 mitomycin treatments, 15 BCG treatments and 3 turbt's the cancer had invaded the second lining of my bladder and that I needed a cystectomy.
I am going to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. I've had two brutal chemo treatments, they couldn't do the third because it was damaging my kidney function. I only have one kidney thanks to the high grade invasive kidney cancer I had three years ago.
I see a highly qualified surgeon next Thursday, the 11th of Feb. I am extremely anxious, do not want to go, do not want any of this. I know I have to, but I hate it.
I do not know if I'm a candidate for the pouch, but I am hoping and praying that I can have that procedure. I do know that the surgery will be robotically assisted laparoscopy, a mouthful, but it is what has been suggested as the best way to go. This surgeon does hundreds of this procedure and has done so for the last 10 years, so I know she is competent.
Please keep me in your prayers and I hope I can get to the point where I can accept what is happening and get through it with some modicum of dignity and resignation.
thank you again,
Mary