Some Good News

Some of you may know that I am 55 years old, a male in generally good physical condition. Late last fall I started noticing blood in my urine after a hard workout at my gym, it alarmed me as this never happened before. Over a couple of months it happened several more times but only after a strenuous workout. Never the less I located a good urologist and went for a checkup. A urine sample showed some trace of leukocytes and blood. I was sent for a CT scan that showed two shadows in my bladder. A cystoscopy following showed at least nine polyps. Shortly after that I scheduled a transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT). The pathology showed stage 1 carcinoma with no intrusion into the muscle tissue, however it’s a high grade carcinoma. I completed six weeks of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatments and waited a month. Yesterday I had my first scope since the tumors were removed. The doctor reported no visible signs that the cancer had reoccurred. He took biopsies and now I await those results.

For a couple of weeks before this last scope I was experiencing some discomfort. I started running again (to try to loose the weight I gained) and tried pushing it over 4 miles. (six months ago my daily run was 5 so it isn't such an accomplishment) After that run I observed some blood in my urine again. I was afraid what the doctor was going to tell me yesterday when I woke up. What a relief when I heard my wife say there is no visible signs and the doctor was all smiles and believes that I am out ahead of this thing. There is still a long road to run but I am very optimistic. God is good.