Your opinion on this info!

If I may inject one more opinion....."What Mike said..."

Well thought out and very nicely put. I found a surgeon who said "high grade aggressive.... We need to remove it." Nuff said. I went in. I'm glad I did. And Good riddence to my fialed part!

Agreed Jack.

Probably should have mentioned that mine was high grade for those that don't know about CIS.

Mike

I can't imagine anyone giving this report much credibility without mentioning stage and grade. If cancer ever returns to my bladder as noninvasive low grade, I will not have a RC. This is from 2 pretty darn good Uros.
Secondly I have a friend who got a neobladder in 1991, lives a pretty normal life. He was Stage 2 high grade. Just gets checked every year.
Jack

Bill,

In the article it says:

A lot depends on what they catagorize as "suitable". As said already by many others, stage and grade are critical to picking a treatment plan.

I had CIS. TURB, all clear for almost two years, and then a recurrence that had gone muscle invasive. I would have tried to talk my uro into doing an RC even if it returned as non-muscle invasive. Based on simple logic, if it came back once--it could come back again. Depending on how aggressive and how often I get checked, it has a chance of coming back and spreading soon after an all clear exam and then having the opportunity to do more damage by my next review. If I take the bladder in question out of the equation by removing it from my body (and no cells escape during the RC to start up somewhere else in urothelial cells) then I eliminate the possibility of it spreading.

I had checks every three months, had just had a cysto and check and was all clear. A few weeks later I had blood in the urine again and it turned out that the cancer had returned and had become muscle invasive.

No question whatsoever for me at that point. Out with it and good riddance. I am very happy to have had an RC.

Be careful with the studies and reports. Get an opinion on the articles and your specific situation from top bladder cancer experts (doctors).

Just like everything (including completely opposing concepts) can be argued with the bible, the same is true of statistics. Give someone any position statement and they can gather the bible quotes or statistics to back it up. Take the opposite of that statement and they can do the same thing again.

The study you posted leaves out too much information and that one word "suitable" can mean a lot of different things.

Mike

Bill,

I suspect you are going to get lots of feedback on this one. My thoughts: I'm with the others...no grade or type makes it invalid as a good source of information. I was dx'd as having cancer that was highly invasive...my surgeon felt it would be relentless...I forget his exact words but I do have them on tape somewhere...left no question in my mind as to what was needed.

If I had been given a dx. of superficial cancer, I'm sure my approach would have been completely different. My mother-in-law was in her early 50's when she too was dx'd with BC, but only superficial...was treated with something similiar to BCG and went on with treatments for years and years until she was 80 and they told her the bladder had to go. She went in for a neo at 80 ...not what I would recommend for someone 80 years old...her heart stopped twice, they stopped the surgery...told her to return in a few weeks and they would finish. She was in so much pain afterwards, she would not go back, and let me tell you she is no stranger to pain....she is one tough lady but she refused to return. She has worn depends since then, having to change them every 2 hrs. and turned 90 this year. So, although she made it a long time without doing an RC, her life hasn't been easy either.

So although my cancer was much more aggressive than hers and I had to get my RC at age 56, I wouldn't change places with her. I think my quality of life has been better than hers. I realize the cancer could always return but I feel I have done most everything I can to eliminate it and keep it out of my life. Now I just need to give up sugar.
Melodie

I don't know much about the Clinical trials and their results, but I wonder if these statistics from the 1980's are still relevant considering the new procedures and the advances in medical techniques?

I have been given the impression that after my RC that my prognosis is to remain positive that I shall remain cancer free. Or am I just fooling myself?