Not sure if this is the right board

Hi, forgot to say, his treatment is at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, UK. (Which is only about 25 minutes from home).

Di xx

hi, the cancer was in 3 lymph glands, but they did not say how large the glands were. They categorically told him that he would not be having any more surgery at all

I must admit that we did ask the consultant what the purpose of the treatment was ie to cure or to prolong life, and thats when we were given the 5% chance of surviving 5 years - which really upset my dad

I have just spoken to my dad and he is ringing the consultant up, to see if we should attend this scan or cancel it, and re-arrange till after cycle 3, so thanks very much for your advice

di xxxx

Hi Diane,

I'm sorry to hear how your father was given such dire statistics, and did not have his bladder removed. They found the lymph node involvement with scans? Do you know how extensive it was?

The standard approach for many years has been to skip bladder removal if nodes are found to be involved, and to use chemo. If there is a very good response surgery may still be performed and some people go on to get a good long disease free survival. Did your father's doctor discuss this as a potential option?

If the nodal involvement was indeed minimal, pre-op chemo followed by bladder removal is showing itself to be a valid option and even curative in certain cases. I hope it works out that way for your father.

About your question...I'm no doctor but I'd guess that if the drugs being used are effective, and the nodes were big enough to track accurately, it might be ok after 2 cycles to check, but I also think 3 cycles is a safer bet to see a response, and be tempted to postpone. Who needs an extra CT scan just due to appointment scheduling mix ups.

Where is your father going for treatment in the UK, just curious.

Wishing you and your family well,
Wendy

My dad (aged 61) has invasive bladder cancer, which has spread to localised lymph glands. They have told us that it is not curable and have not offered surgery. He has been told by the consultant before treatment started that he has a 5% chance of achieving the 5 year survival rate, and if he does not have chemo he has a life expectancy of 12-18 months.

He has started chemo, cisplatin and gembutacine (sp), and has just completed 2 cycles.

He has a CT scan appointmen which arrived, booked in for next week, however the consultant told us he was scanning dad after three cycles, but the scan date has come through after only two cycles? Is there any chance any improvements may show after two cycles, or should we ring to re-arrange this CT scan until he has completed another cycle

thanks in advance

diane xxxx