Tests Done-Appt 4/13

Wendy when I go to see Dr. Malkovicz he is Dr. Weins colleague who does all the bladder reconstructions at Penn. Since my tumor is invassive and into the muscle I will have to have my bladder removed unfortunately but really came as no surprise. I totally agree with you as far as any surgery toward the end of the week and I will NOT have this. My Cystectomy was done on a Monday and I and as I had posted my ureter was blocked and the Cath they put in fell out so I had to go back in the OR on Tuesday which is why I rather the beginning of the week in case of any complications. Now I would hope my CT Scan and Bone Scan will check out favorably and then Dr Malkovicz I assume will go ahead and schedule my surgery from there. I also posted Dr. Wein leaves no stone unturned he checks everything and all these tests are simple but just spooky just because of the circumstances. I really think Dr. Malkovicz will explain everything to myself and wife today and like I said if all is a go do the surgery the begining of next week basically keeping things pretty much on schedule. Best Wishes, Joe

***I had a Bifemoral bypass surgery for blocked artery in right leg and left hip replacement both no later then Tuesday. Lol then you hope these guys did not have a rough weekend and are ready to go. But I assume these guys are different then me I hope I was a trucker and all Mondays were rough for me after the weekend. Fortunately I quit drinking 4 yrs ago so I don't have to worry about this anymore lol. Closing you're right Wendy Penn is a busy place but as far as I am concerned I got my first appt' within a week which is rare and they are moving to me as fast as they can I am satisfied.

(Jeff- I think the subject title of Joe's post refers to the date for the surgery?)

Joe- That seems like a long wait, but I guess they are fully booked at UPenn. Maybe if there is a cancellation? As long as you don't get surgery late in the day, or on a Friday! You don't want a tired surgeon or a the staff being gone on the weekend...I've heard it can make a difference.

I had to wait 10 wks from dx to surgery and found it was the most difficult time as well as the quickest 10 wks I ever lived through. That was for a mastectomy in Dec. '99.

Take care,
Wendy

Joe,

Good choice in both.
I went to Univ of Washington.
When are you going to have the surgery?

JeffG

Jeff Dr. Malkovicz is Dr Wein's colleague and this was another reason I chose the Univ of Pa if all goes well the neobladder is definitely what I want my friend no questions ask. And when Dr. Wein had told me the tumor was in the muscle he told me they could keep it that I could keep peeing thru my penis. I have done my homework on this and know there are alot of different things to do to get this working properly. The first meeting we had together( DR. Wein, Myself & Wife ) I remember discussing this and Dr. Malkovicz was the man he said that does the neobladders. Dr. Wein is an excellent Dr. and he has a great team. Praying & Waiting, Joe

Hi Joe,
One who has been there RC 1/10/2006.
You’re now in the hands of the Lord.
You will be just fine. I don't know what type of bladder your going to get.
But, for your age you might want to look at the neobladder.
You keep the pluming and they use the intestines to make a bladder.
God speed on your recovery.
JeffG

Well I would like to thank everyone here for all their support so far and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Yup the waiting is the hardest part like the song. I found out the tumor was on larger size and did get into the muscle. I found out it seems contained and biopsies off the rest of bladder are normal. I have an appt with Dr. Malkovicz on Tuesday at 12:15 PM and he will have the results of my Cat Scan of Chest and also Bone Scan. My hope at this point being the tumor is in one spot and that it did not spread. All I can say now is under the circumstances physically I don't feel all that bad, mentally I am wiped out but still going at this with a positive attitude and fight in my heart. To me when I was dx 1/6 I had 2 choices and they were just roll over and give up or go at this and try to beat it and I have always been the type of guy to fight and not give up with most things in my life. After my appt' I will come back and update you all so all I can now is just chill out and pray for best. Your Friend, Joe