Possible bladder cancer now?

MeinMississippi

I was successfully treated August 14 for Stage 1, Grade 1 uterine cancer. I had felt pretty great after the surgery and was ready to move on with life. The only thing that slightly bothered me was that no lymph nodes were taken because I am quite obese, and the doctor couldn't visualize the nodes. Before my surgery I was treated for a urinary tract infection. I didn't notice many symptoms, but my WBC count was elevated pretty high and my urinalysis indicated an infection. About three weeks ago I started having pressure, pain, frequent urination and very small, faint amounts of blood when I wiped. My urinalysis showed leukocytes and blood. I was given antibiotics again. I never did feel better and about a week after I completed my antibiotics I returned to the doctor. She stated that the urine culture they did before my surgery and the one they did three weeks ago was negative. My urinalysis I did that day showed leukocytes again, so I was given antibiotics again. The doctor called me yesterday and said my urine culture was negative. I'm taking an OTC drug that I usually take to help with the pain when I have problems with urinary tract infections, as I've had problems since I was a small child, but over the last few years had seem to diminish. I was never found to have a reason for these multiple infections. The OTC drug has always helped me with the pain, but has given me no relief these last 3 weeks. I see a urologist on Tuesday. I'm scared my cancer may have moved.  On the same note I wonder if this could happen this quickly? I had a pelvic CT before the hysterectomy that was clear. Am I worrying over nothing??  Sorry this is so long. Thanks for any help.  

NoTimeForCancer

Mississippi, none of us our

Mississippi, none of us our doctors but you are doing the right thing getting it checked out.  Before you rush to a conclusion give the urologist a chance to see what is going on.  We all hear, "with your history" and that is why seeing a specialist is the best thing to do.  Please come back and let us know in the event others find themselves with similar questions.

TeddyandBears_Mom

Hey Mississippi - I agree

Hey Mississippi - I agree with NoTime.

Even if it isn't cancer (and it most likely isn't), it is good to get an answer to why you are having the infections and pain. It is hard not to jump directly to a cancer diagnosis once we have cancer. Every pain seems to make us go there.  Try to do things to get your mind off of this. I'm glad you are seeing a specialist and will get some answers soon.

Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

bluesmama

Not a doctor either

You had surgery a month ago. I'll tell you something. I'm not a doctor either but you're still healing. I never had a UTI until soon after my first surgery and of course it was related to cancer. I was stage 1A, Grade 1 uterine cancer 3 years ago.

I left an ovary behind so my hormones should have been fine but I was prone to UTI's ever since. Now that I had a second surgery about a year ago for a recurrence (and radiation and chemo), I've had 3 more UTI's and one was quite severe. I'm convinced it's because my body chemistry changed drastically over the last couple of years and I have to be super vigilent about staying away from harsh soaps and now use my Replen and a perineal irrigation bottle often before I wipe. I know this might sound like TMI.

I don't want to scare you. I was the 4% with a recurrence but even with the recurrence, it never hit my bladder. Chances are it's not bladder cancer for you either but do remain hypervigilant about your health. You're obviously doing the right thing by following up with your doctors. You already had a CT scan a few months ago and I don't think they want to subject you to radiation from scans unecessarily. It's ok to be scared as long as you remain self-aware and follow up with your doctors. Good luck. 

pinky104

Thoughts on your symptoms

My sister-in-law and her daughter both get interstitial cystitis, something that causes UTI symptoms, but from what I gather, isn't a UTI.  It tends to be seasonal.  You might ask your doctor if it could be that.  I forget what she said she takes for it, but I know it isn't an antibiotic.

I had a co-worker who had lung cancer surgery.  She kept getting blood in her urine after surgery and blamed it on the urinary catheter she'd had in her during surgery.  It went on for a whole year.  She kept testing herself with test strips at work (we worked in an ER) but didn't mention it to her doctor for a long time, if I remember correctly.  It turned out to be bladder cancer.  She was a long term smoker.  The cancer eventually killed her, so you're doing the right thing getting this checked out.  It does seem to me like you aren't likely to have cancer there since it would have had to grow extremely fast, but my cancer did that (got huge in just 3 mos., which my GYN/onc. said was highly unusual).

Did you go thru chemo?  I feel like I have a UTI very frequently, and have a history of frequent UTI's, which have been worse during chemo.  Sometimes when I'm tested I have one now, and sometimes I don't.  I asked my urologist if I might have bladder irritation from chemo, and he said "yes" to that, but he also added that I could have vaginal atrophy which would also cause the same symptoms.  He recommended I take an over-the-counter drug called D-Mannose.  It's made out of fruit sugar ( from fruits such as cranberries) or vegetables and the bacteria in the bladder attaches to the sugar and is carried out of the body thru the urethra.  It was tested on a group of 300 women who have frequent UTI's.  100 were given a placebo, 100 were given an antibiotic as a preventative, and 100 were given the D-Mannose.  60% of those given the placebo got UTI's, 40% of those given the antibiotic got UTI's, and 20% of the women given D-Mannose got UTI's.  The dose he recommended was 2 grams a day.  You can buy these online, but watch how the ads are worded.  Most of the pills are 500 mg., which means you'll need 4 a day.  A few are 1,000 mg.  The ads sometimes refer to a serving, but the serving may be as many as three pills, so make sure you get what you need.  The stuff comes in a powder, capsules filled with powder, or a gel cap.  Most of the manufacturers are ones that aren't well-known.  Every Tom, ****, and Harry seems to manufacture it.  I picked one that had a mention of the FDA on the label the second time after buying one that said it was 1,000 mgs. on the label and in the ad, then when I got it home found it had a serving size of 3 pills adding up to 1,500 mg. on it.  The company had actually pasted a second label over the original, so it was misleading.

I hope your urologist can figure this out for you.  He may want to do a cystoscopy to take a look around. I found that a bit painful. He was looking to see if there was a communication (basically, a hole) between my vagina or rectum and my urethra that caused my urinary tract to get contaminated, but he didn't find one.  I do have a cystocele, a dropping of my bladder, that can contribute to UTI's. The older you get, the more likely you are to have one of those.  Gravity takes its toll on the organs over time. 

Another think to think about is if something could have happened during surgery, like if the bladder got nicked accidentally or if something was left in there that has since moved around and might be cutting into your urinary tract.  I worked with a woman many years ago who had pain for 18 years after a surgery and finally discovered a needle had been left in her during the surgery.  I don't know if you had a CT or PET scan before your surgery, but the possibility of a radiologist misreading the scan results is something else that could happen. He may have missed something in the bladder.  Hopefully not, but doctors make mistakes just like the rest of us.  All kind of strange things happen, so keep investigating what's wrong, and hope for the best.  I'll be praying for you. 

CheeseQueen57

Bladder issues

I had a lot of bladder issues related to radiation. i had a cystoscopy (wasn’t so bad) that showed a lot of debris in the urine the urologist thought was due to regeneration of the bladder lining due to the radiation and was feeding the bacteria. I usually had ecoli infection. You might ask to be referred to an infectious disease specialist. Perhaps you never really get rid of your original infection or it is antibiotic resistant. I second the d-Mannose. I get the powder form and mix a Tsp in unsweetened cranberry juice each day. I order the NOW brand from Amazon. 

You might want to be careful with the Azo, it can effect your liver. I found that sitz baths relieved some of the burning. Also, I find that using vitamin E vaginal suppositories are much more effective than Replens and cheaper. Since I’ve been using them, I have very little of the burning I attributed to urinary tract burning. You can also order them from Amazon. The come from Carlson and come 24 to a pack for  about $9.00. I use one every other night. Just insert one at bedtime and try to stay in bed so it stays in.