Bladder Cancer

[livingwith]

I am helping relay information to my sister in law who is the caretaker of her mother my mother in law. My Sister is alone in this and I am across the country, trying to help but the doctors are not very clear with my sister or she does not know the right questions to ask about mom’s Bladder cancer.
Mom has had symptoms for a very long time and we found out she had been bleeding for months once my sister got her to a doctor she only had 4 pints of blood left in her system…very scar...Read the full article

[cuddlecraver]

Hi there,
not sure if this will help you but my gran just over a year ago had similar symptoms,bleeding heavilly, found tumour, was invasive, had it removed.
this is a question, is it invasive?
she had to have six weeks one day of radiotherapy, as she chose not to have her bladder removed,
since the radiotherapy she has unfortunatly developed lymphedema, which has made her legs massive and getting worse by the week, shes had this for 8 months, leaking infections pseudonomas etc
and dvt from radiotherapy, another interest for advice,(radiotherapy side effects)
she a year on from having her tumour removed has been told it has now spread to her two nearby lymph nodes, and has kidney failure starting,
whether my gran chose right not to have her bladder removed i dont know, she says she chose right, and everyone is different, my gran may be one of the unlucky ones,as she now has still got to have a pipe fitted from her kidney, i am trying to do a lot of study on this myself, and i find there age is the problem,with offers of treatment,etc, and can they cope, because of there age,
just my experiences of whats next,!!!!
all the best hope things go a lot better for you,cuddlecraver

[artofwalls]

hello,
i just wanted you to know that my mom has bladder cancer and went through chemo and radiation...i just have to tell you the radiation completely fried her insides...she has severe radiation damage. her bladder now is stuck to other parts of her abdomin and parts of her intestines and colon have been affected. her cancer has returned and now the doctor doesnt want to take her bladder out because there is too much damage and he doesnt want to kill her (his quote) so now she has a cancer filled bladder and they are treating her with chemo and maybe they will be able to take out the bladder....if she had to do it all over again she woiuld have taken out the bladder asap...bladder cancer does not really go away...it is a 50% chance the tumors will return....
radiation damage is worse than the actual cancer....think this through clearly....my moms quality of life is not good at all....she is suffering every day.
my thoughts are with you and your mother.

[princess]

Hi there

I have just read your post about your Mum and you have my full 100% sympathy. My Dad was diagnosed with ca bladder in October 2007 but we only found out the severity of this in January 2008.

My Dad is not having anymore more treatment his Consultant who has been very good says the operation to remove the bladder is to radical (the op could kill him) and that chemo or radiotherapy would not make any difference to his situation and that his quality of life would be very poor. At the current time the cancer is contained in the bladder and hasn't spread to any other organs,

My Dad is 90 in September and taking his age into account we have decided that we have to be positive and try and give him as much quality in his life rather than quantity. This is proving to be very difficult indeed and there isn't a day goes by that I don't shed a few tears. The fustration of feeling totally helpless is horrendous.

His health has started to deteriorate, poor appetite, swollen legs and feet from the knee down and needs lots of sleep when I visit he aways falls asleep whilst I am there. He has broken out in a rash on his legs and arms with lots of dry skin which is a side effect of the condition. But you know what he is so much better at coping than I am and through him I find the strength to support him.

We go back to see the Consultant in May so I will let you know more after the appointment.

But can I say that I feel priviliged to still have my Dad in his 90th year and we will do our utmost to keep him comfortable as possible and shower him with love and security for as long as possible.

[darzq]

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. My mother-in-law was just diagnosed a few days ago although we're still testing to see how far it's gone. The doctors have already said it's inoperable due to the tumor's proximity to her only functioning kidney so our options are pretty limited. Ma is 79 and in relatively good health but she lost a 55 year old daughter to uterine cancer two years ago and she's strongly against chemotherapy and radiation and is very content to let this thing run it's natural course.

I'm here to read others' stories and try to get some idea of what my husband and I may expect, as she lives with us and we will be her caretakers for as long as possible while keeping her comfortable.

My best wishes to all.
Darlene