Just found a tumor...TURB next week...now what?

15 years 3 days ago #24733 by wsilberstein
Replied by wsilberstein on topic Just found a tumor...TURB next week...now what?
I've had the pleasure of walking into the OR for every one of my procedures. And just to throw a little levity into the situation, 8¼ years ago when I walked into the OR for the original cancer surgery, the nurse apologized to me for the way the gown didn't quite cover me, to which I replied that if I thought anyone was the least bit interested in my butt, I'd be flattered.
-Warren

-Warren
TaG3 + CIS 12/2000. TURB + Mitomycin C (No BCG)
Urethral stricture, urethroplasty 10/2009
CIS 11/2010 treated with BCG. CIS 5/2012 treated with BCG/interferon
T1G3 1/2013. Radical Cystectomy 3/5/2013, No invasive cancer. CIS in right ureter.
Incontinent. AUS implant 2/2014. AUS explant 5/2014
Pediatrician

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15 years 3 days ago #24729 by Patricia
Dean......just to make you feel a bit better about the practices at Swedish Hospital........most large cancer centers are doing the exact thing. When i was at Memorial Sloan for my second TURB my wait for surgery was over 2 l/2 hrs late and i was not pre-medicated and i walked into the surgical room on my own. I was asked my name and was to look at a chart on the wall which had my procedure written and they made sure all was correct. I suspect on drugs i would have said i was anyone they wanted me to be!!...once on the table i was given a premed shot to relax me...talked to my surgeon a bit and then was out like a light. This is pretty standard in the larger facilities...i think too many left legs were cut off when they were in there for a mole removal!!:huh:
Pat

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15 years 3 days ago #24728 by mmc
Dean,

Great news!!!! Congratulations. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that your pathology reports confirm your doctor's initial impressions.

Gee, I thought with all the great info we gave you ahead of time that you would have been cool as a cucumber going in to the surgery.

Can't say I agree with the way your hospital handled things pre-op. At least they wheeled you to recovery and didn't make you walk there also! :)

Keep us posted on the path report.

Mike

Age 54
10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
1/2014 ct scan results....distant mets
2/2014 ct result...spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph...

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15 years 3 days ago #24727 by Alan
Dean,

Glad things are looking up. As posted awhile back my TURB was uneventful. My tumor was .5CM which is small but, pathology read as G3 (high grade) non invasive. Good that you URO took big margins. As many will opine many will re-TURB just to careful & sure-mine did a 2nd. Have done the BCG and trust my BC is gone. Keep us posted. Lots of people that can help along the way.

Alan

DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.

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15 years 3 days ago #24726 by deand
OK, TURB and TUIP over. You guys were right - piece of cake. I feel little tired today from the anethesia and it feels like I am peeing razor blades, but I guess that is typical. But beyond that, it was pretty easy.

In talking to the surgeon, he said that the tumor was very small, he took large margins just to make sure, that it did not penetrate the bladder wall, muscle or anywhere else (but he did take muscle and wall for testing anyway) and he only found 1 tumor. Nothing else. He said he has seen tons of these small little tumors and removed tons of them and from his initial perspective (he wasnt promising anything) it looks liked to him either a benign tumor or something that was "pre-cancerous". He said anything is possible and we arent making any decisions until pathology comes back, but he said after seeing it and having it out he is even less concerned about it which I thought was awesome news. So thanks to ALL of you for your support. Sorry if I was a pain in the butt, but I was nervous.

Now a rant. I love my doc, but my Swedish hospital experience was "interesting". I was kind of a nervous wreck going into the surgery (I am a Type A+ personality) and my doc was 1.5 hours late. They got the IV going but wouldnt give me any valium or anything else to take the edge off. I have had other surgeries where that is standing procedure. Not enough to make you loopy, but enough so you calm down. But I got nothing. Then get this, they make you WALK to the OR. The OR was a good 50 yards away and they make you pick up your IV bag and literally walk in your stupid gown all the way to the OR and you know if you are already pretty nervous about the surgery, this only made it worse. I couldnt believe it. Other places I have been give you the sedative to calm you down, they protect your modesty and wheel you into the OR and really treat you well. I was kind of shocked and honestly, it made my experience that much harder....but either way it's over and I am done and now the waiting for path begins.

Just wanted to update you guys. Thanks again. Will let you know what the path reports say when they come back.


Dean

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15 years 5 days ago #24712 by deand
Cool stories. Yes, I am a full believer in things happen for a reason. We dont always understand them at the time, but you typically find out later and go "hmmm...now I get it". You know, going through this, you never know how your story is going to help others and I have actually been telling everybody I can find about my BC story and how it was found early just in hopes that men will go out and get routine checkups and get the tests...they need to listen to their bodies because too many times men just wont go to the doc. So, if somebody listens to me and just goes in and finds something early, it is worth it all. Know what I mean?

I got a heart scan about 2 years ago and then I came back to my company and put it on the company's email system about it. 3 months later I got an email from a guy I had never met in my company that saw my original email, went in for his heart scan (he had no symptoms) and they found a severe heart problem but caught it early and was able to fix it. He said my email saved his life.

So, yes, there are blessings in our diagnosis - we just dont know who it will affect...

I am going in for my TURB in 24 hours and I feel better about it now after all your support. Thanks again. It will just be nice to finally know what the heck I am dealing with and as soon as I get the path reports, I will let you all know.

God Bless


Dean

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