Advice/help/opinion
Hello everybody,
first of all I would like to thank everyone on this forum for their stories, opinions, advice etc. I am new here and would like to share my father's story in order to get some advice or at least to have a place where to talk to people that unfrotunately have to deal with this.
He is 76, and during a routine ultrasound it was discovered he has a "proliferative lesion" on the bottom part of his bladder of 3x1.4x1.8 cm. I did some online research (I know I shouldnt have) and right now I'm 99% sure it is a malign cancer of the bladder. He was visited by an urologist and at Friday will undergo a citoscopy and he said that they will take that mass out no matter the outcome of it. To me that is more than enough to be sure we are talking about cancer. He had not apparent symptoms besisdes 6 months ago a single case of blood in the urine, but he immediately did all the urine and blood test and everything came back clear. As he take Martefarin (Warfarin) our doctor said it can happen and can be connected to that. Obviosuly, we are still shocked and in my head everything is running fast. He is not in the best shape, has cardiovascular problems, lifetime smoker, chronic bronchitis. In the last few months, he developed heartburn and now I'm scared as hell that the cancer might have spread to the stomach.
Also, I would like to say that he underwent 2 ultrasounds after that and they did not show any other worrying sign with other organs.
My questions are: did anyone have these type of problems? Is heartburn usually connected to bladder cancer? I know its all up to doctors, but how likely is that a cancer that big has already spread deeper in the organs/tissue?
Thank you in advance for your help.
thanks for posting. I am not a medical professional, just a nerdy caregiver who also reads too much in times of stress. The mass removal you are talking about is called a TURBT, and removing the tissue is a normal part of the test itself. Doing the test in and of itself does not necessarily mean you have cancer. From my experiences, heartburn is not immediately connected to bladder cancer. Although the stress of battling bladder cancer would be enough to give anyone a sore stomach! Rare and aggressive forms of bladder cancer can ravage the body very quickly. You would likely see a grave change in the patient. Above all, get your Dad to a doctor and get these questions answered by a medical professional! Hoping for health, a calmed mind, and full heart. Prayers to you both, Charles (Moderator / BladderCancer.net) Thank you very much for your answer. Well, the hertburn developed some months ago while we were unaware of this situation, and right now I'm starting to connecting everything to what we know so far, even if I know I should be asking doctors instead of going insane about it. Anyways, thank you very much once again, indeed.
@somesay - first of all welcome to this group and thank you for caring enough to reach out and try to get some answers regarding your fathers situation. I also am not a medical professional. The normal procedure after a cystoscopy (where a tiny camera is put in the bladder to see the inside) is done is a Turbt. This is a surgery where the inside of the bladder is scraped out and tumors are removed and then sent for biopsy. There is nothing wrong with going on the internet for information as long as you know that the sources vary and the information does also. Too much investigation is not always a positive. It does appear that your father's urologist is moving along to determine if there is an issue that needs to be treated. There are stages and grades of bladder cancer and the turbt and biopsy will show if your father does in fact have bladder cancer, the stage and grade. I have not had heartburn issues or heard of others who have along with bladder cancer. I suggest that you take this one step at a time and then see if it is cancer, what the treatment options are. It does seem like things are moving along quickly by the urologist to obtain answers and that is good. Please keep us updated on how things are going. Sending prayers and good thoughts to your and your family. My best Linda Urbanski (moderator, Bladdercancer.net team member)
hi. It is always difficult not to google but I would say best not to unless on official medical sites. Of course they is useful information to be found but also a lot of misleading info too or stats based on small case numbers. It sounds like all the right checks and procedures are in place. His medical team will take all his conditions in to consideration when deciding in any course of action and will fully engage your father in this. It is worth noting down any questions such as heartburn to give your Dad to ask or ask yourself if you are there for the appointment. Wishing him well. Let us know how he goes. Laura, Moderator, BladderCancer.net Thank you very much for your answers and your kind words. It is really helpful for me to have the possibility to talk to someone like you and I'm very grateful for that. I will keep this post updated hoping for the best.
Thank you once again.
Wish you all the best@somesay - We are always be here to support you and respond to any questions you have with our experiences and knowledge. Wishing you the very best!!! Linda Urbanski ( moderator, Bladdercancer.net team member)
@somesay - you are very welcome. We are always here to support you through whatever you are dealing with. My best Linda Urbanski ( moderator, Bladdercancer.net team member)
