Hello,
I was just diagnosed with stage 3 Bladder Cancer.
I am confused by why it took almost a year to get the diagnosis.
I originally went to my Urologist close to a year ago complaining of frequent urination. I had known I had an enlarged prostate from my GP but thought it was time to get a more specialized opinion.
They took urine samples and that came out "negative". I filled out a questionaire about how much my symptoms "bothered me"( getting up several times nightly). I stated it was inconvenient and undesireable but something I could live with for the time being. ( I was not feeling any pain and there was no blood in urine)
I came back in 3 months for another follow up check-up. Another urine sample was taken and came out negative.I came back for another check-up 3 months later and had another sample taken with the same results.
A few weeks ago I saw a tiny amount of blood in my urine, went back to the Urologist and they confirmed, after more extensive testing,there were malignant cells in the blood.
I had a CT scan 2 days ago. Today, on my 62nd birthday I had a Cystoscopy. My Urologist saw MASSIVE growths in my bladder. I am going to see another specialist for a 2nd opinion about treatment options.
I did not see blood in my urine until 3 weeks ago. Since that is the #1 sign of bladder cancer why did I not see blood until recently? ANY IDEAS OR COMMENTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.