MEDICAL MATTERS

[Wendyf]

Thanks for letting us know how things are going Sally, you must be looking forward to getting him home.

[Travis]

Sally, if you need help with transport issues I'm back home late Saturday for Sunday. In fact now that I am retired if anyone needs help let me know.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Sally. Give him my best....
Blood test this morning and the surgery has swung into action. Quite impressive. If I don't get an appointment at Airedale inside ten days I am to tell them. The target is within 14 days and it is evidently being taken seriously!

[LizG]

So good to see the photos of Ian. He looks amazingly well so soon. Thanks Sally for the update.

[Tizer]

Thanks Sally for taking the time to give us an update. We know how busy you must be at a time like this. He's looking great!
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Stanley...

There can be all sorts of reasons for blood in your pee., a lot of them are nothing to be worried about.

Kev is right. It's a balance of risk and hazard. The risk of it being cancer is very low but the hazard (cancer) is very serious so they have to regard every case of the slightest spot of blood in pee as a cause for immediate investigation. When I became breathless it rang a similar warning bell with my GP and I was sent to hospital quickly as a potential case of heart failure and given an angiogram. I came out with a big smile after being told my heart was in perfect condition.

[Stanley]

Lovely to see Ian doing so well! Thanks Sally.
Yes, I am aware of that but it's just the vague threat that disturbs my equilibrium, plus the fact that I hate going for the tests! It interferes with the shed!
I got mail from a friend who has had the complaint and survived this morning..... " I am an expert on bladder cancer, so you will have your own private consulting person. If you have to have cancer, bladder cancer is the best kind. It is contained, not painful and treatable. So there!!" That cheered me up no end!

[Sue]

My neighbour has had bladder cancer for years. It crops up now and again, goes into hospital for a day with a blast of chemo straight into the bladder and home again. He is in his late 80s now

[Marilyn]

My hubby was diagnosed 22 months ago ( Christmas Week 2016 to be exact), has had numerous Cystoscopies and tumours removed twice. He has had a few set backs, but he is fine. Last Cystoscopy ( done in the specialist's office) was clear. Next one due next month.
Bladder Cancer is more of a nuisance than anything else. It seems there is always another appointment on the horizon, which is annoying when you have to plan life around it. We would rather be sitting in front of a creek in our van watching birds at Sunset!

[Wendyf]

Sorry to hear your hubby's problems are ongoing Maz. Col hasn't had any recurrence of the cancer, all his problems were caused by infections post op and post cystoscopy.

[Marilyn]

We had one wild 2 hour ambulance ride from our local hospital to the city, Wendy ( haemorrhage). I followed the ambulance up the freeway in my little car. He had to go straight to theatre when he arrived.
But last " look" was clear and we expect no less next month.
We don't worry much any more. Nothing scares us.
( the worst bit was spending Christmas with our kids with a diagnosis but no prognosis. He opted to say nothing, so I went along with his wishes of course, but we were both miserable.)

[Big Kev]

6 month MOT done and dusted and the nurse offered me a flu jab so I'm all sorted for winter.

[Stanley]

All reassuring Kids, thanks for posting. I go for ultrasound examination next Thursday...... We will shortly know just what the rabbit looks like!

[Wendyf]

The ultrasound is to check how much water is left in your bladder after you have had a pee.

[Marilyn]

Yes...it's a CT you need, plus a visual Cystoscopy/ Biopsy to find and identify any cancer.
Hubby had dozens of ultrasounds when he couldn't pee after surgery. A 2 min job done at the bedside, they could tell exactly how many mls of urine was in there! ( he thought he was going to burst and they would say "only 25 mls"!!!)
Other times they would say he needed a wee but he felt nothing. Then he would stand up and fill a bottle!

[Marilyn]

They also have to determine the aggressiveness of the cancer ( aggressive cancers quickly grow through the bladder wall and infiltrate bowel and bone). From the test results they can "stage" a cancer and determine a prognosis.
Bladder cancers are among the easiest to treat.
If you are an older gent diagnosed with bladder cancer, chances are you will live a long life and die of something other than your bladder cancer!

[Big Kev]

I didn't realise they'd diagnosed it as cancer, sorry to hear that Stanley. Regardless of whether it's easy to treat or not just the mention of it is a worry.

I had blood in my pee several years ago, I had ultrasound scans and all sorts and it turned out to be a kidney infection.

[Marilyn]

Oh no...Big Kev. Stanley hasn't had his tests yet.
We are just trying to make him feel better because you know how he worries about things!
Being helpful, we are...

[Big Kev]

Ah right, my misunderstanding. It was all the posts about it that threw me.

[Marilyn]

( my husband has bladder cancer, Big Kev. But he is fine, doing well, and we expect an "all clear" next month)

[Wendyf]

Sorry to confuse you Kev.

[Big Kev]

No worries Wendy. I saw all the posts, put two and two together and came up with five.

[Tizer]

I'm not surprised you got that impression Kev, I was beginning to think I'd missed something too!

[Wendyf]

Well, not another word on that subject then!

[Big Kev]

Well, not another word on that subject then!

[Marilyn]

Yeah...it's only men's health...not an important subject eh?!!