help understanding bladder cancer

monroe318
monroe318 Member Posts: 3
in Bladder Cancer #1

hope i do this right but back on the 10th of sept i had a turbt dont an they removed 3 tumors . i waited 2 wks only to here that i have g3 t2 (high grade stage2 bladder cancer) well i was told it was invasive an that my bladder had to be removed no problem there but i had to have ct's done only to find out today that it had spread to near by lymph nodes so now the doc is suggesting going to the oncologist for a run thru the chemo .

 my question is what if the chemo shuts down the cancer in my bladder an nodes do i still have to have my bladder removed .

 

thanks for any help

 

Comments

  • TheOtherDitto
    TheOtherDitto Member Posts: 58
    #2
    New here myself...

    Hi Monroe.  This is my first time posting to this board.  I'm originally from the head and neck forum.  I was the caregiver for my husband who had stage 4 base of tongue cancer, also HPV positive, last year - he finished treatment August 2012.  My brother was diagnosed with bladder cancer on Sept 19th.  He ended up having an emergency surgery on Sept 21st due to the concerns for his right kidney.  He has a second surgery on Sept 25th to remove as much as the tumor as possible.  They were able to remove 95% of the tumor, which had invaded the muscle wall of the bladder.  We met with his oncologist today and he is scheduled to begin chemo (cisplatin and gemzar) on Oct 18th.  He is also scheduled for another surgery on Oct 16th to try and remove the remaining 5% and take a sample of the lymph nodes (this surgery is being called a "debridement").  He will have 3 rounds of chemo over the next 4 months and then be scheduled for a cystoscopy (I think that's what it's called) to remove his bladder and make him a neo bladder.  I'm hoping he will be able to post on this site and get quick responses to any questions he has, as well as encouragement going through this process.  This forum doesn't seem to be as active as the head and neck forum but I thought I would respond to you and hopefully you and my brother can encourage each other as you both go through this.  Our understanding is that once the cancer has invaded the muscle wall of the bladder, they have to remove the bladder as part of treatment in the hopes of the cancer not spreading in the event any part of the bladder was left - I guess the chances are higher of a recurrance if the bladder isn't completely removed once the cancer has invaded the muscle. 

    We have an excellent team that he's comfortable with and we are just going to trust his team on what is best for him and improve his prognosis.  He's still a little shell-shocked about the whole thing but we'll get him through it.  I'm hoping he will be able to find encouragement here when he needs it; in addition to what he will receive from family and friends. 

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