CancerCompass message board discussion started by Rose 123 on 12/30/2007 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,19234,0.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Hi,  Husband had surgery in 2005 with stage 4 bladdercancer and bubbled in the wall of the bladder.  He should have been checked sooner but we did fine on what we had done.    He had the bladder removed and an external bag.  The man in the other hospital had an internal bladder -not from as good a doctor. or something and he passed away.    The bag is nothing.  The smell is minor most of the time.  We have to watch his ph balance to keep it from being strong.  We use a cinnamon bathroom spray and heavy bags to dispose of the used things.     He is drinkging a goji juice to help with the ph and following his doctors orders.  I am so thankful to still have him.  You can read about this at www.pubmed.org  and then type in lycium barbarum.    posting this to give you hope and encourage you to fight this.  We went to a very good specialsit and had very good surgery.  The biggest problem is the insurance is still billing us for large amounts of stuff.  So when you are going through this.  keep track of phone calls -make the insurance companies send letters of confirmation at the time, record calls and make sure to keepextensive records of anyone you talk to : time, date, reason etc.  These insurance companies giv eyou 60 days to respond and you sre still in limbo with a sick person in the family.  Bless you all as you go through this.Rose Rose 123 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Rose, That is wonderful news. Do you know of any alternative treatment facilities for bladder cancer?  My friend has squamous cell carcinoma bladder cancer and has gone through 3 rounds of chemo.  They have given him 2 months to live.  We are trying to find any recommendations for doctors for second opinions or alternative treatments. God bless you and your husband. Petunia3 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT