r/BladderCancer

My husband starts his treatment in August and was wondering about what wipes are best to use after urinating? Do they have to be antibacterial?

Hi everyone, sad/glad to be here. 40M. Been having gross hematuria intermittently for about a month now. Just did my CT scan yesterday and got the results this morning. 2.6cm x 2.4cm exophytic mass inferior bladder (plus benign mass on liver and enlarged prostate).

I have a cytoscopy later today. Trying not to spiral but also feeling doomed.

Any words of advice for a newbie in your ranks?

When I was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in May 2025, I found this sub and everyone‘s stories here helped with me coping with this disease. The following is my treatment over the last 10 months. I hope this will help with what you or a family member might be going through. If anyone has any questions, feel free to DM me.
I am a male in my 60s living and getting care in southeast Michigan. Never smoked, but both my parents did, so exposed to a lot of secondhand smoke.🤷🏻‍♂️

April 2025. My annual physical with my PCP found some blood in my urine. I scheduled at CT scan which came back with a 3.5 cm mass in the bladder

May 2025. Met with my urologist who did an in office scope and scheduled me immediately for a TURBT. The path came back as pT1. Bad news is was cancer, Good news, no muscle involvement

June 2025. Second TURBT of the same area. The path was pTa.

Aug 2025. After healing up from the TURBT’s I received six weeks of full dose BCG.

Nov 2025. An in office scope found three small ” red patchy“ areas. Not in the same area as the original tumor.

Dec 2025. Third TURBT for the three small areas. Path on these came back as pTIS (cis).

Dec 2025. The doctor determined the BCG did not do the job. He immediately put me on a 6 week course of gem/doce Chemotherapy

March 2026. I went in for an under anesthetic cysto and biopsy at the hospital. He was very happy with how my bladder looked. He took a couple samples of the margins of the spots from Dec. The path came back negative for cancer.

So now I go into a maintenance protocol. Once a month for the next 12 months a gem/doce treatment with a in office scope every three months. 🤞

I fully understand that this is something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life, the chance of this coming back. But for now, I don’t know how my outcome could be much better.
Good luck to everyone, this really is a marathon, not a sprint.

Update, July 2026. In office scope at my urologist. My anxiety was high going into the appointmen 🤞 My doctor took a long look and as he is pulling the scope out he smiles and says everything looks great. I could have hugged him. Continuing with monthly gem/doce with another scope in 3 months.

For those with a similar diagnosis as mine where the BCG did not work…There is hope. For now the chemo is working for me 😊

hi all, my dad will have a third turbt soon, pTaG3, and afterwards BCG. He has kidney failure and is having dialysis, I wonder how does that work together.
Really scared of BCG but as long as it helps 🙏

Thank goodness for urine tests.

Hello everyone,
I am pretty scared, during an abdominal ultrasound they found a 3/5mm tumor/polyp in my bladder (found by surprise) I had no symptoms (one UTI a mont before the ultra that went away fast with 3 day antibiotics, was my second UTI in my whole life).
After that I went to a cytoscopy and they show the polyp so I am scheduled for surgery in couple of weeks. The doctors didn’t seem so concerned but I can’t believe this is happening, I am a healthy person who doesn’t drink (very rare) or smokes, I do sports and my only weakness is sweets one or twice a week. Anyway. I am an hypochondriac and I am terrified.

The cytoscopy was fine, not really painful or anything, a Pap smear feels worse.
This TURB, what will I expect? I read mostly results about men, how is going to be for a female? I am scared of the pain, the recover (the idea of having a catheter and peeing myself is terrifying (if my uretra gets damage or something).
And of course the scariest part is to know what that polyp is… good or bad 🫠

Thanks a lot for the help!

I (63M) completed rounds 12-14 of BCG treatment on July 15. Yesterday when I got up, I noticed my knees ached a bit. As the day progressed, the pain worsened and sometimes I'd feel pain in the hips. By bedtime last time, I was kind of hobbling around the house because of the discomfort. It wasn't a sharp pain. More of an ache all around the knees and sometimes the outer hips. I found that as time progressed, when I bent over, it was painful (kind of in the way when you just don't have flexibility).

I had very mild chills last night when I first went to bed that lasted maybe an 30 minutes. No fever.

Today I'm still finding it somewhat difficult to walk around the house. I manage, but it's not comfortable. My urine still looks straw colored. No other joints ache. I'm able to function, but it's just not comfortable.

Has anyone experienced this after BCG treatment? If so, how long did it last?

Hi my husband 35,recently diagnosed with LG NMIBC , solitary 1.3 cm. He had no symptoms. One day severe pain due to a 6 mm kidney stone and incidentally discovered during an ultrasound. I have been reading so many stories, some are frightening, some are reassuring. Can you share some long term positive outcomes/ stories. I am terrified thinking about the recurrences.

hi I’m female age 20, I just had a cystoscopy done to rule out bladder cancer (I don’t have it, I’m so relieved) and I figured I’d share my experience for anyone who’s gonna get one is is scared.
Lowkey doesn’t hurt at all, a bizarre feeling for sure, mine was done with a flexible scope. They clean you with iodine, insert the lidocaine gel, but I’ll be honest it didn’t rlly do much to numb me. Then, they insert, the insertion is the oddest part. Once they’re in it feels like there’s some pokes n pinches but no pain really. It’s really an odd feeling. Better than a Pap smear though fs. And then the doc took it out. Peeing cold water is weird fs, but then that’s pretty much it. It burned for the first hr or two after but now it just mildly burns when I urinate. Looking back, I’m mad I was so anxious 😭 anyways I know not everyone’s experience will be painless, maybe my doctor was just really gentle, but if you gotta get one and never had one, try not to get in ur head too much. It’s not too bad. 🙏

Hi,

Yesterday I had my (48m) first TURBT for a 2cm mass seen via ultrasound.

Currently waiting for the histology.

Reading the guidelines it appears the standard should have been to also get a chemo at the same time to reduce risk of recurrence.

I am concerned that I do not seem to have received such chemo.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

My father has an urgent referral for suspected bladder cancer and has a scan with contrast this week, cystoscopy beginning of next.

He has a traumatic brain injury so can become easily confused and distressed with even something such as a minor routine change, so im worried if he experiences too much pain he could potentially be unable to tolerate and see the procedure through to completion?

Im aware different people will have different experiences but im just hoping to get some idea anecdotally if this is going to be something particularly painful for him? Just to give me an idea of what i might expect so i can best support him.

That is my main reason in writing this post, the following may be tldr so you dont have to go further,but I felt i needed somewhere to write some additional stuff if anyone wanted to chime in on anything there also. Im not doing too good mentally from the worry and although we arent at point of confirmed diagnosis yet that might sound silly to some. Its just Ive seen my Dad through 2 previous cancer types of cancer, which were luckily cured but im noticing a similar pattern, along with my 'gut feeling'

I lost my only sibling in traumatic circumstances and promised him in my last moments with him id look after Mam and Dad. I feel ive managed to fulfill this to the very best of my ability but in times like this im reminded of how much of his support im missing as my parents age. Id love to be able to talk to him and say the word 'Dad' knowing that it means the same to us both and relates to the same person and familial dynamic.

There has been a 'spotlight' shone on grief and loss again for me and i believe im experiencing 'anticipatory grief' and having some C-PTSD symptoms alongside. Not helpful when i know i need to be strong to help my parents. Myself and my Mam already care for Dads complex health needs since his brain injury,with her taking on the lions share at 76 due to them living together. I simply cannot allow myself to sink when im all they have left.

He has had blood in his urine with infection ruled out thus far.

When attending a GP appointment regarding this, urine and blood testing were done and as a result of findings in either one or both of these the GP ordered urgent investigations. He had lost a little weight in the weeks leading up to this which i mentally noted.

After this GP appt (literally a few days) I noticed weight was dropping off him more rapidly and is continuing to do so (he is still eating but appetite very surpressed and can only have very small amounts )and extreme fatigue causing him to sleep most of the time. It has all happened so quickly. Im attributing this weight loss and fatigue as a physical symptom of the potential cancer as opposed to stress being that Dad doesnt really understand what is going on with his health.

Has anyone else had any experience of this rapid weight loss with fatigue symptom before/ during diagnosis but before treatment? Im aware it can be an indicator of advanced or fast growing cancer and this is my worry.

Hi, I'm 40 year old female and was diagnosed with urethral cancer last week. I've had symptoms for a longer time, mainly blood in urine and there have been sings of possibly cancerous cells in my urine samples but all the further tests has come out clean, until now. Cancer has now spread to my bladder.

Because of the location of the main mass of the cancer my only option is a surgery to remove my urethra and bladder alongside with my uterus, ovaries and part of my vagina. They will also do a vaginal reconstruction but i'm told to expect permanent nerve damage.

Is there anyone else who has experience with this or is going through something similar? All the material I got from the hospital is written for older men, without a single word about someone with female anatomy, so I'm kind of lost here.

I’m looking for advice or your experience with your bladder cancer surgeons and your treatment facilities. UC misdiagnosed my souses pathology during the Neo bladder surgery said it was no cis, MDA Houston said it is positive for cis in bilateral ureters, I’m looking for top notch advanced doctors asap to help me save my husbands life🙏😇‼️

Just wondered why doctors would refuse. It’s not for me just someone I know.

Just had my first BCG, my experience seems to be somewhat diff than some of you so I felt I should share. 65yro M, non smoker, 1 tumor, HG TA, NMIBC.

- Dr said zero reason to do the roll around to get good coverage. Said the bladder shrinks down, so all lining is covered anyway.
- Even on first visit, send me home right away. Said future visits will be about 10min max since they’ve already gone over the details. Part of the wait is the check for UTI.
- Did use lidocaine, then catheter for BCG(no pause during injection). short wait(like 30 seconds), then catheter out and goodbye!
- because of the shortage, only gave me 17ml. Said they do 17, 26 or 50. But gave me 17 because I guess I didn’t need more and due to the shortage.
I questioned the nurse and she claimed Dr said same efficacy.
Went home, never once had any significant urgency, and didn’t have to go at the 2 hour mark. Because of my anxiety, I didn’t drink a lot, but clearly somewhere around the 1 hour mark I need to start drinking!
(I did start drinking after the 2 hour mark) Did have some small cramping and about 1/2 hour of cold sweats. Other than that no side effects.

Greetings. So, I've had three urinalysis over a couple of years to rule out infection, etc. My urologist is certain that it is not bladder cancer because there has been no blood present in any of the samples. My symptoms are painful urination and bladder burning. Though it does seem to be diet and age related (I'm male), I can't stop believing that I could at least get a cancer screening since I had a paternal uncle that had bladder cancer.

Was blood always there as an initial indicator for you either through pee in the toilet or present in the urine screens/cultures?

I saw a few test kits online that can screen for the specific cancer cells in urine.

Hello, I've had blood in my urine for around a year, doctor kept saying urine infection. Plus I thought it might be post menopause stuff. Anyway went to a different doc, they have sent me for tests. I had an ultrasound yesterday and saw an oval/grape looking lump on the scan. probably about an 1/8th size of the bladder, maybe smaller. The scanner didn't run screaming to get a doctor but did ask if i was getting a camera up there soon.

Obviously google hasn't been my friend... how do you cope between seeing that and getting results? I can also see that it is v treatable but I don't fancy a pee bag

(F54)

Edit - had no other symptoms apart from it's been a bit uncomfortable to wee lately. Blood is just light pink on paper with very occasional clots

Has anyone else felt wiped out the day of/day after husband’s or wife’s surgery?

We planned for his outpatient surgery several months ago, and it went better than expected. Doctor was great. Recovery was good. Now husband’s at home; he ate well, rested yesterday and slept well last night.

He’s feeling pretty good today. Pathology comes back in 3-4 days. He’s had immunotherapy before and we know how that will go depending on the report.

I’m trying to figure out why I’ve been exhausted since yesterday, as if it was my own surgery. Please comment if you’ve experienced this problem.

(Not looking for sympathy, just insight, please.)

Thanks 😊

New to this world. 40 year old F diagnosed with High grade T1 papillary urothelial carcinoma. Had my first Turbt around end of May when a 2cm tumor was removed. Had catheter for a week then. Today had my Re-Turbt and had three new 2mm tumors removed. Thankfully, no catheter this time. Is it normal to find new tumors so quickly after Turbt?? Awaiting pathology results which will take about 1-2 weeks before next steps. Then BCG if it’s still nmibc. I’m so worried.