Blood in urine

Real Tar Heel said:

The time distance for the

The time distance for the appointment may be because of his insurance having to approve the tests. However, this sounds very serious. Have you considered taking him to the emergency room, a walk-in clinic? What about his PCP? Chemo drugs kill so many parts of us I think the medical pros who have been at it a long time just shrug things off as being par for the course and not dangerous.

Sorry he's dealing with this. It's a good sign that he is not experiencing pain. Might try pressing against his lower back to see if he feels anything.

He has an HMO and its in the same hospital system, surely they will do the cystoscopy but its just literally the first availability. I wanted him to just go to the ER but frankly he is so afraid of them now after his experience with an abscess following his resection surgery that led to his ileostomy. He really starts to tremble with fear at the thought of going back to the ER, plus now this his oncologist knows about it and is apparently fine with just letting him wait, he doesnt want to push the issue and is just hoping it goes away. Like you said though, it sounds serious and honestly thats because usually it is. The absence of pain is what probably points to this being something more nefarious which is just another reason I am angry about the wait time. UGH. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply by the way. It means so much more than you could ever know. I feel like an island of one, trying to encourage my dad not to let it bother him and lying that I am sure since the oncologist isnt freaking out that it could be nothing. Then of course the moment I am not with him I break down. Anyway, thanks again for replying  

Tueffel said:

Emergency

Go directly to the emergency department and telling them about the symptoms. Many things can cause hematuria but if it is visible with the eye it should be checked out. I dont know which chemos cause it but eg hemorrhagic cystitis is a side effect but it can be treated really easy. 

But I know how you feel, one good week and then several bad weeks. You get some good news and the next day the bad ones.

There is on sign you can do for kidney stones. You put your hand flat above the kidney on the backside and bump it with the fist. Do it on both sites and see if he experiences pain. 

He certainly wont go now as his oncologists office did not direct him to do so. Obviously if he develops any other symptoms I'll just tell him to go instead of calling, but frankly he is just really so afraid of the emergency department. I dont blame him of course, it was so horrible that he was there all alone before and he developed some real PTSD from it all. Its almost child like, how children become afraid of going to the doctors because they got a injection at the last visit; but I dont mean that in a negative way towards him, its just so sad is all.  Its so horrible to have to see your dad have to suffer. I know you know that. What a horrible club to be in.

I was hoping it could be hemorrhagic cystitis... but usually that causes pain or other urinary symptoms. Of which he has none. No burning. No hesitancy. No frequency. No fever. No flank pain. Nothing. Nada. Nichts. Just pee the color of tea.   

I am trying to be hopeful that because he had CTs and the PET scan 4 months ago before he started treatment, that nothing too serious could be happening. But I know those scans can miss mets often, and as rare as a kidney or bladder met is, they still happen to someone. Im just sort of wallowing in the "why him?!" of it all. We just wanted a darn break. UGH! 

worriedson714 said:

My dad has been dealing with the same thing on and off for a while as well as UTI's that seem to happen everytime he doesn't drink water for a little bit . My dad also has kidney stones one which is very big as well as swelling and inflamation in one kidney and his kidney doctor wanted him to do nothing . Since my dad just had a recurrence of his cancer the kidney doctor wanted him to go threw chemo and radiation then deal with the kidneys . It took me days of arguing with the kidney doctor to get a ultrasound scheduled to get his kidney checked out . Now my dad isn't on chemo as of yet but the urologist and kidney doctor both told me flat out blood in urine isn't a emergency . They simply look at is cause of my dad's kidney stones and urostomy he is high risk for UTI's . However it should make a huge difference that your dad is on active chemo I would for sure go to the emergency .

         My dad is just like yours he is afriad of going to the emergency room now and he tends to ignore problems out of fear it seems like . Like right now my dad's liver numbers are up also he doesn't even want to have them rechecked or a scan . All you can do is explain to your dad how worried you are and be supportive and hope that gets threw to him and he agrees to go to emergency room . 

        Far as anger goes I believe it's normal cause I am so angry I want to punch a wall all the time cause just like your dad my dad always seems to have another problem waiting in the wings . I pray for him to get a break even for a day and my heart breaks cause he never seems to get one . All we can do is be strong for our dad's now they need us more then ever we have to be the ray of hope they need to give them what they need to get threw this . 

              The waiting omg gets me so angry right now my dad's cancer just got confirmed as back and we have to wait 3 weeks for more appointments just to get ready for treatment . It literally has me seeing red honestly some doctors just don't seem to care all you can do is what I been trying to get my dad to do look for new better doctors there are some that care . 

The thing with the wait is, its just long enough to not let us have normalcy and for the anxiety to just build and build. This sucks.