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I don’t really understand why they just don’t immediately recomend a cystoscopy. I had the ultrasound but it didn’t tell much but the cystoscopy showed the tumor within seconds
If you have a have decent Doctor they will recommend you to an Urologist for a Cystoscopy immediately.
Hi
In my case, I did not see any blood in my urine but I frequently needed to void but often the amount was minimal. Sometimes it was urgent “like run to the washroom” and at times pain at the end caused by bladder spasms which at the outset I didn’t connect the dots. In any case, I went to my family doctor and explained everything so he order blood work, ultrasound and a urine analysis. It included a cytology which determined there were suspicious cells. All of this was over a 3 week period and I was then referred and seen by a Urologist within 2 weeks…2 weeks later I had my first TURBT.
I think that because there are so many reasons why blood (gross) shows up in the urine our doctors typically run a couple of tests to rule out or narrow the search. I was fortunate to have a great family doctor and now a great Urologist…while not all stories turn out the same, I think we are blessed to have an overall great medical institution in Canada.
God Bless!
Rick
Not all tumours show up on an ultrasound or x-ray. I was fortunate that “something” showed up on my ultrasound and that prompted my GP to send me to a uro pronto. When I had the office appointment with the uro and he informed me that I would need a cysto to see inside my bladder, I asked why the x-rays etc. weren’t enough and he told me that the cysto as we both now know from experience, shows the tumours in full view and he waned confirmation of what the x-rays were showing. He told me that x-rays/ultrasounds can show false positives.
I’m assuming and someone can correct me if I’m wrong – some tumours are in the muscle wall and if a thickening shows up that usually prompts the need for a CT scan.
In Calgary anyhow, it seems to vary between docs but most do what mine did – send you for an x-ray/ultrasound and blood/urine cytology first and then take it from there. Some GPs just forward you on right away to a uro and that usually means that you start with a cysto exam and then the uro takes it from there depending on what was seen if anything. Still others as we all to well know treat it for an infection first which delays the diagnosis because of the delay in referral to a urologist.
I agree with everyone else – ALL blood in the urine should be taken seriously as a potential cancer risk existing in the urinary tract. Any other urological symptoms should be investigated as well. As we all know it is better to find out earlier rather than later.
Hello
A health professional friend told me that the current teaching for doctors is that if there is visible blood in the urine assume cancer until proven otherwise. This is how I had a medical student be the first to suspect I had bladder cancer. Even after the doctor he was working under went up one side of him and down the other, the student stuck to his guns. So glad he did.
I just wish the medical field would take bladder cancer and the risk of bladder cancer more seriously.
Take care
Cheryl
Another issue with this is gender….In some cases, I’ve had women tell me that their GPs referred them to OB/GYNs thinking that it was a female issue.
I agree with you about the opinion that any and all blood in the urine should be assumed as potential cancer in the urinary tract until proven otherwise. Women should also be given the additional screening of their reproductive organs at the same time so things can be ruled out faster.
I know it was my GP’s speedy reaction to my case that saved my bladder and potentially my life. Despite everything awareness has improved dramatically and we owe a lot to Jack Moon and David Gutman for starting BCC and getting this message out there.
In September 2017, I discovered blood in my urine. While it was initially believed a UTI was the cause (never had gross hematuria in any of my previous UTI’s), my Dr. became concerned after the infection ckeared, but 3 subsequent urine samples continued to show gross hematuria. She had some further tests done one my urine sample & eventhough no signs of cancer cells were present, I was referred to a Urologist. The bleeding eventually appeared to stop in Nov 2017, but on Monday, March 26/2018, it returned. I had an ultrasound of my kidneys & bladder on March 28th. It came back as ‘normal’ (only a small kidney stone found in left kidney,but my GP said that shouldn’t cause the kind of bleeding I was experiencing) so now she is sending me in for a CT of my bladder, kidneys & tubes leading from kidneys. I finally saw the Urologist on Apr. 17th (the last noticeable episode of bleeding was just the day b4). He performed a cystocopy,which showed my bladder looked normal. He felt that the bleeding could be caused by blood thinners I take for AFib, but I pointed out I only started blood thinners in Jan/Feb of this yr & bleeding started in Sept.2017. I also had a total hysterectomy about 18 yrs ago & bleeding only occurs upon urination. The urologist wants me back next WK to submit more urine 2 be tested and to come back once the results of my CT come in (still waiting to find out when that will be). While I was so relieved to hear my bladder looked normal, the Urologist mentioned there could be something in the tubes that carries urine to bladder from kidneys OR some sort of bleeding disorder. While cancer of this particular kind is not common in my family, cancer is & almost all my family members who have passed has been from cancer.
Has anyone heard of someone experiencing symptoms similar to mine (or been thru something similar to me) & they still find out it IS cancer?!? OR, is it likely that given the results so far, chances are that it ISN’T cancer related?
The waiting & not knowing is what is most stressful & worrisome.
Any suggestions or ideas on what I can do/should do to help find answers? Thanks so much in advance😁
Hi
I just wanted to reply to your post with my empathy over the waiting and worrying. All of us on this forum understand your feelings and anxiety only too well. I have not had any experiences that would shed light on what you are going through right now (my bladder is gone, as well as one ureter and one kidney), but I can tell you that life is still very good without those parts, haha. Perhaps that’s some comfort if you are fearing future treatments. In the meantime, it seems like you just have to wait for the CT Scan and results from that. I would think the scan would provide definite answers one way or the other. Hopefully you will hear soon about your CT scan booking. Good luck to you.
Thanks Susan🙂. I appreciate your kind words. My CT has been scheduled, so I guess we will see what comes of that! For now, the bleeding has stopped again & that definitely makes it easier to deal with. Hopefully, it all turns out to just be a false alarm.
I recently went for my follow-up cystoscopy (after turbt Feb 2016) and got an all clear. The next day I went to my GP and got the result of my urine analysis made a month ago and it shows blood in the urine (+++). Should I mention it to my Uro, or should I wait, because if there’s anything, it will have shown in the urine sample sent to cytology? Thanks for your help.
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