mother has invasive bladder cancer / need info

We just found out that my mother has invasive bladder cancer with grade 3 cells. She feels fine otherwise, is a very healthy, 72 year old extremely active woman (works full time and has very full life).

Needless to say this caught us totally off guard. We are going to meet with the oncologist for the first time tomorrow. We are all aware that she will be likely losing her bladder, along with a lot of other stuff. She is at terms with that. We are more focused on getting rid of the cancer right now.

Any words of wisdom, what we should look for? Is there anyone else out there who has had grade 3 invasive bladder cancer? Look forward to any insight. Thank you.

My Dad had stage 4 bladder cancer and 1 node that showed cancer. He was diagnosed in Nov and it went from taking the tumor out to finding out in 2 months that the cancer had grown extensively. He had his bladder and prostate removed in mid January. Now he is going through 12 weeks of a combo chemo treatment. This also caught my family off guard. My dad is 63 and has diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. I know this sounds terrible but I prepared myself for some CV event in the future, NOT bladder cancer. So when this hit us we were stunned. The surgery was tough, they remove your bladder, prostate goes with it in men, women have reproductive organs removed (I think), and then depending on what you decide, your intestine is made into a place for urine to drain. It is a big surgery. I believe that some surgeons do it in 2 separate surgeries. My Dad had an illeal conduit made (I'm sure you know what that is by now). He is doing well having a bag, after about 3-4 months he is resuming his normal activity. He had a tough time with this mentally. He finally decided to talk to a therapist which helped a lot. You need to hydrate and walk that is my best advice from someone watching this happen. Easier said than done but make sure it is done. I have a brother and sister, we all live far away from our parents. I was there for the surgery. Be prepared that it's tough to watch a parent go through this. I have 2 children and a job traveling all the time. If you can, help out as much as possible. Family support is key. My Dad is doing well with the chemo, he actually says he feels great. AFter the surgery and for the next month it was a different story. He did not have anything good to say. Then one day, he got up and felt better. The fatigue was going away and so were the tears. Every patient is different but in a few months life can be back to normal. Nobody knows you have a bag except you and your family. The best thing of all is that this cancer can be cured. I am glad the bladder is gone and I'm looking forward to many more years with my Dad. Good luck to you and your mom, get as much information as you can.

 

On 4/15/2009 mark joseph wrote:

We just found out that my mother has invasive bladder cancer with grade 3 cells. She feels fine otherwise, is a very healthy, 72 year old extremely active woman (works full time and has very full life).

Needless to say this caught us totally off guard. We are going to meet with the oncologist for the first time tomorrow. We are all aware that she will be likely losing her bladder, along with a lot of other stuff. She is at terms with that. We are more focused on getting rid of the cancer right now.

Any words of wisdom, what we should look for? Is there anyone else out there who has had grade 3 invasive bladder cancer? Look forward to any insight. Thank you.

 

How did everything work out?  My father was just dianoised with bladder cancer, they removed what they could but its so bad they have to remove his bladder.  I am searching for questions to ask the Oncologist tomarrow.