Bladder Cancer at 83 Years Old

In October 2019, I had two heavy instances of blood in the toilet. I went to my daughter who lives near who is a community Sister. It was on a Saturday and she told me to go to A & E.

I had to make an appointment for later that day. The daughter gave me a test pot to take just before I went. No visible blood could be seen by eye but there was on the dip test. Never seen any blood in urine until then and no sign now.

Discovering I had cancer

I went to see a GP and he said he was going to refer me to the hospital. Three days later, I got a phone call for a camera check. Told me there were three things that looked like non-invasive muscle tumors.

November 10th, I went in for an operation. On December 10th, I went to see the consultant and he said it was cancer.

Not able to hold in BCG at my age

Told me treatment was BCG which had to be held in for a long time. I told him that was not possible, because can't hold it that long. I decided to leave that for a while and see how it goes. As I was 83 years old, I thought age would probably get me first.

In February 2020, I went for a camera check and they told me it looks as if it was clear and that they would be seeing me every three months. He did say I have an enlarged prostate and prescribed me a new tablet to shrink it.

Still battling frequency and incontinence

The three months are up, but probably due to the virus, it might have to wait. While at the time I called into Macmillan office and said I was still having a problem with having to keep going to the toilet and get caught out.

They were very good and referred me to a local clinic at the hospital. Sorted a date to visit and gave me a prescription for some incontinence pads which I am still having to wear. I did have a urine sample test and the nurse said ok.

Has aging impacted your treatment decisions?