Reply To: new to this site

[marysue]

Welcome to our site Shelly but sorry that you have reason to be here. Gladular differentation means that there is some presence of squamous cells in addition to the usual urotheliel carcinoma. For details on how serious this is I strongly recommend that you have a serious conversation with the Edmonton uro and get a full understanding of that and the implications of an RC in your case. You want to be sure that the decision to go for an RC is the best solution for you and that you are not reacting out of fear, panic and/or anger. I had a tough time with BCG but am glad that I stuck it out. When I had a reoccurence in 2010 I was tempted to discuss an RC with my uro rather than continue with BCG but when I learned of the extensiveness of the surgery and the long recovery time I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and powered through the treatments. I hope that you are aware that most docs when doing an RC will take out more than just the bladder. In men they often take the prostate and abdominal lymph nodes out and in women it is even more extensive with the removal of the ovaries, uterus and part of the vagina and lymph nodes. This is in additon to the reconstructive surgery which will vary depending on the option you choose. It is not always necessary to remove everything but doctors vary widely on their opinions of this and if you are dealing with a doc that would opt for a “clean sweep” and remove everything you are in for an extensive recovery. In women that means they will go through surgical menopause on topo of everything else. I had a very rough regular menopause with it coinciding with BCG treatments and having very unbalanced hormones so I wouldn’t want to experience the surgically induced version. I hope that my info helps. Best wishes and keep us informed.