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Andy

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I’ve just written my profile and it instantly disappeared! I will try again:

Hi I am Andy and I am 72 next Monday. I am writing this from a hospital in London, where I had my bladder and prostate removed by a wonderful surgeon and his team last Saturday. My cancer has been going on for some time but was only officially diagnosed earlier this year at which time it was non muscle invasive. I was advised to have BCG treatment which I had for 6 weeks and then 6 weeks off before the next operation which showed that the tumours had grown back and invaded the muscle! At this stage I reluctantly decided to go private and to research the top surgeons for this procedure, and I believe that I found him. He intimated that he would probably have removed my bladder earlier had he seen me before but suggested that it should be done without delay, so, cancelling a lovely family holiday in Oman with the grandchildren, I came to the hospital and had the operation. The care here has been amazing and I am extraordinarily well considering that this was just 6 days ago. I’m up and dressed and yesterday my wife and I went for a stroll around Borough Market......but I am shell shocked! My stoma, my bag, all the equipment that I need to take with me everywhere I go......I am finding it hard to get my head around and I do feel rather depressed. Previously I’ve been a very active person, golf, tennis, cycling and a volunteer job at our local hospital.....and I just can’t  see getting back to all this again. I would really appreciate talking to someone who has been through the same experience and comparing notes. Thanks in advance,

Andy

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    Hiya Andy and welcome.   While it is pretty obvious that I have not had any prostate problems myself there are men here who have come through prostate cancer and over the years since their treatment have gained a mint of experience.  I am sure one of them will come to chat with you soon.  Annie

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    Hi Andy. Welcome to the forum.

    You've had a packet and no doubt. I would assume you had bladder cancer and the prostate was removed at the same time as a precautionary measure.

    I had my prostate removed some 8 years ago, but you've had far more extensive surgery than me.  

    Major surgery is a major shock the system, and it will take some getting used to, so you should expect some ups and downs. I actually slept for most of the two weeks following my surgery, and then I lost a lot of weight in the following months - alas, I put it all back on again (and more!). 

    Will you need further surgery maybe to construct a new bladder? 

  • Offline in reply to telemando

    Hi and thank you for your email. Yes I had bladder cancer and I understand that they always remove the prostate, just to be sure! My operation was done miraculously by robot and my incisions are very small and will no doubt disappear in due course. I do of course have a stoma, which I am currently finding hard even to look at, but of course I have to change my bag every 2 days as well as emptying it every 90 mins approx. I am still in hospital and don’t go home until Sunday, so I was hoping to talk to someone who had been through the same experience and who might be able to offer some useful suggestions. It’s good to have found this site, which I’m sure will prove very comforting in the months to come. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that the cancer appears to have spread into my lymph nodes, so a number of them have been stripped out, leaving me leaking significant quantities of lymph fluid, hence the need for incontinence pants in addition to the stoma bag!!......it’s all such good fun.

    Bye for now,

    Andy

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