Newly Diagnosed w/ T1-G3 Tumor...Terrified!

Steve
Just remember..... "You ARE going to see your grandchild grow up and you WILL have a long and relaxing retirment. This is just a bump in the road.

How can I say this? Because You have caught this early and you are going to get the best treatment available. Your friends are professional health care workers and are already giving you good advice. I hope they steer you to a surgeon who has done MANY MANY Radical Cytectomies. You want an assembly line worker who has this thing down pat.

You will get plenty of help here. I had the same experience as you. Feelin' great! Lots of stuff going on and a lot to live for! BLAMM! Right between the eyes. In 2 1/2 months I had 2 TURBs and the RC! Life changed. But things have settled back to normal. I am almost 3 years post RC and aside from a few niggling differences "I am ALIVE!" I am almost Normal.... The other people on this site will dispute that though.

Take good care of yourself..... Get to the right hospital with the right Dr. and ....... Get well. You WILL live a long and happy life. Soon you will be giving advice to others. You will be a success story..... Just like us.

George

Steve,

Welcome and sorry about your diagnosis. As Alan mentioned, most people will suggest you get a 2nd opinion at a major bladder cancer center to be sure of the stage/grade of your cancer as well as to make sure there is no residual tumor left after the first TURBT. The fact that your doctor is suggesting a 2nd TUR is a good sign.

After that, try to relax a little. I know that's easier said than done. Getting a diagnosis like this isn't what anybody wants. However with proper treatment and followup your likely looking at a long future ahead. One thing I've found is a lot of people are well meaning, but there knowledge of bladder cancer is limited at best and they don't always give the best advice. Getting a 2nd opinion will easy your mind with the knowledge that you've got the right diagnosis and treatment plan in place.

Thank you Alan...I'd say it's nice to know there are others in the same boat but that's to harsh...i wish no one were in this boat!

I live in Central Massachusetts and am 20 mins from one the finest medical centers/schools in the country...UMass Medical Cente, and just 1 hour from Boston, no need to say more about the help available there if need be.

My uro is also a top notch BC specialist.


Thank you for your support and kind wishes...I will update about my progress as I continue on this new chapter in my life.

Best wishes to all...

steve

Had my first grandchild and first TUR 1 day apart. I am 54 and have always been in relatively good health (little overweight) but never did I expect this. It was a sickening and helpless feeling when told that oncology had determined it was a G3 tumor after having my TUR.

I had been so upbeat about only having a "superficial" diagnosis.My wife and I both are now confused about how this could have progressed so rapidly...confused and scared. I have been drilling deep on the net for information for the last 5 days since getting my news about the grade of the tumor. A 3cm (single w/no satellites) superficial G3 papillary tumor.

I have 2 dear friends, both RN's(married couple). When he learned of the news last Saturday (he was at work) he immediately starting having conversations w/the doctors and NP's he worked with. Their consensus was, if they had the same diagnosis, they would hsvr hsvr the RC and rid themselves of any further possible tumors.

Scary!!! My doctor wants the full treatment schedule of a second TUR (scheduled in a few weeks) to scrape the inner wall of the bladder to remove any residual cancer cells and the a 6 week BCG/Interferon cocktail into the bladder followed by 3 years (every 3 months) then 2 years (every 6 months) and 5 years of once a year follow up (cystoscopy)...wow! How did I get here?

Anyway, I am on information overload at this point, one day feeling great about my future and the next reading a study about negative studies and down on my feelings again. A real roller coaster of emotion!

I want to see my granddaughter go to college....get married and live a long happy retirement w/my wife...I'm scared!

Thanks for listening....

steve j.