Hello alanjay,
If your starting chemo first you will have plenty of time to talk to your doctor about surgery and the best options for you.
Is the chemo going to be Gemcitabine and Cisplatin? I was told this combination is the most tolerable for most people. It is what I had for neoadjunctive chemo and it was very tolerable. I gained almost 20 pounds and never really got sick.
As far as bladder replacements, you have the neobladder which is the “most normal” as your ureters and urethra are left in place and used, and the Indiana pouch which uses a stoma and catheter to drain when needed. The neobladder allows you to go to the bathroom normally. Both use a section of your intestines for creating the new bladder. The other option used is an ileal conduit. It uses a small section of you intestines and drains into a bag outside of your abdomen.
All three diversions work very well once you get used to the change. The neo is the most challening out of the three because the muscles in the pelvic region need to be retrained to control urine flow and to avoid accidents.
And as always, talk to your doctor and use their feedback on what will work the best for you.
Bill
This link has a lot of information