Living with Bladder Cancer

Hey all. I’m a male age 45. I was diagnosed with invasive bladder when I was 42. That was May 1, 2005. On June 1, 2005 I had a radical cystoprostatectomy with a continent diversion. We’ll talk in laymans terms: the docs removed my bladder, prostrate and lymph nodes in the surrounding area. They removed about 2 feet of my small intestine and made a pouch or Neo-Bladder. 2 1/2 years later I’m doing and feeling great.

There were some new things to learn, like how to pee again. Now remember that the bladder is also a muscle and constricts when told to by the brain. The new way is I have to tell my brain to push in a different area. There’s also the part of I don’t know when I have to pee either. But over time I’ve learned how to recognize the feeling when the new pouch is full. In the beginning it was tough. I would wake up in the middle of the night wet but never really wet the bed. One of the drawbacks is that when I squat I might leak a little. I have to wear a pad 24/7 Just to make sure I don’t leak through my pants. But hey I’m alive and I can deal with it.

When the Docs found out what I do for a living, a carpenter, he said that I should be able to perform my work. Which after about a 12 weeks of healing I went back to slowly. Now I I’m better then 100%. I don’t smoke anymore and have a little better lung capacity. Plus I think that my positive attitude helped a lot with my recovery and to this day I wake up and thank god for my life and the ability of the docs for rebuilding me.