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Mark,
I am sorry to hear the news, but I am not sure I would go ahead with the surgery. Get another opinion. This surgery is not something you want to go thru if its not going to lengthen his life span anyway. My husband was 67 at the time of his surgery, no metastisis in his case, just a note, I asked a question, do you remove a bladder if there is metastisis, answer was no....that was our experience, it wouldn't hurt to get another opinion, you will never be sorry you did!!
Take care and my prayers are with you.....Ginger

Thank-you all for your well-wishes. These do not go unnoticed. A lot of information to go over and some important decisions that need to be made considering surgery is scheduled for next week. Will keep you all posted.

God Bless,
Mark

I can tell you my story. My mom was diagnosed in July 07 with stage III BC. There were very minimal tests done and she had RC on August 13th. We were very ill informed at that time. I have learned much from this site since which still makes me no expert. Anyway...after surgery we were told that cancer had spread to uterus, but nodes were negative. Chemo was recommended to which she declined. Followup in October showed nothing new. Followup in January showed spread to three nodes. At that time the doc gave her one year without chemo and said chemo might add 3-6 months. Given the odds, she still opted to have no chemo. Back in April for doc to tell us no sense in having further scans. Bone mets are more advanced (in my understanding) than node spread. I have to tell you that I would be hesitant to go ahead with an RC, but it is good that you have a second opinion scheduled. I have wondered since, if Mama's surgery had much longterm benefit. This is just one story and others can be more helpful with stats etc. Wishing you peace and many more days with your father.

Mark,

We were told right from the start, that there is no cure...however, there are various treatments that can give more time, and at one point my husbands Dr even suggested that if the treatments were successful... a remission was possible...my husband is about a year out since diagnosis...

Mark, your father can have many many good days/months left...try not to forget that...

I strongly suggest you get that second opinion...see what other options are available...such as chemo, radiation, etc...it is ultimately your fathers decision...but getting him the information...and second opinions, will probably rest on you and your family...his mind is probably working overtime to digest what he has been told...Once he is presented with all of the possibilities...he will make the choice best for him...

I know how hard this is for you...I hope you all find what will work best for your Dad.

I do think that the RC Surgery is quite drastic...It is possible to get the tumors and blood under control in the bladder with a second "Scrapping"...and follow-up meds...But removal...I am not a Dr. but from what we were told from our Dr here, and via consults with other Drs at 2 Major Cancer Center in NYC, and Boston...they wouldn't do the surgery...they said that it would just add to an already devastating situation...risk during surgery, possible infection, and recovery time...Everyone is different...I just feel strongly about quality of life...surgery and recovery? Not really quality in my book...Yes, this is my opinion...but one I hope you and your family will check into with another Dr.

If you need help in your search let me know...I will help you any way I can,
Karen

Thank-you Karen. Yes, spread has occured from bladder to bone. Our urologist has suggested removing the bladder in order to avoid future problems like blood in urine as he has been experiencing for the past six months. I'm booked for a second opinion tomorrow so we will see. I hear a lot about the various schools of thought regardng removing the bladder or treating cancer with chemo once spread has occured. Regardless, can anybody indicate survival rates when dealing with met. bladder cancer? I know each case is different but would still like to know.

Mark