The warranty has run out on my body!

[Special Ed]

My wife is 13 months my senior. When she turned 65 she had multiple medical problems hit all at once. She joked that she felt like the warranty on her body had run out and now her body is breaking down. Suddenly I can easily relate.

A couple of weeks before the Cali Rally I noticed blood in my urine: not a happy sign. A CAT scan revealed an “orange sized tumor” growing on the out side of my bladder.
A bladder biopsy was recommended, and after this procedure was described to me I asked the Doc to schedule it for after the Rally, suspecting that I wouldn’t able to sit on a bike and participate. Boy was I right!

Through the rally I was thinking the “worst case scenario” would be that I would have to have my bladder removed and I would have to live with a tube sticking out of my abdomen and have an external urine bag strapped to my leg. I actually accepted this idea rather quickly: no more bladder urgency or “shy bladder” syndrome. On long rides I could just run a tube down my leg and let it flow! I realized of course that this would permanently relegate me to the back of the pack!

Monday was my biopsy It came back that the tumor is not only malignant, but is an “aggressive” form of cancer, and may have spread to surrounding tissue. I am having a PET scan tomorrow and should get the results Friday. This will give me “the bottom line.” It does look like, one way or another, I am in for at least a couple of months of surgery and/ or chemo and radiation therapy.

Sorry to bring you down, but I had to get it off my chest. You are my online family.
Your prayers, support, and tales of happy outcomes for such situations will be greatly appreciated.

Special Ed

[GARTHXS]

Ed I am sorry to hear that it was a blast meeting you and they do have some amazing treatments these days . My 79 year old grandma was told she had a year to live and that was 15 years ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with you

[DGXSER]

Very sorry to hear of your diagnosis Ed. I can tell you that my Mother-in-law has had colon cancer twice over the past ten to fifteen years. And she is still with us at over 80 yo.

They do have some very impressive treatments. I will also share with you a story of a friend of mine. He was diagnosed with Cancer about a month before his daughter was born. His was a lymphoma in his chest and it was already in his lymph glands. Well, 11 years later his best advice was this, "the doctors job is to treat the cancer, my job is not to let them kill me with the treatment". So, be mindful of what you let them do, ask ALOT of questions and then think about it and ask some more.

Know that our thoughts and prayers ARE with you Ed.

[jmnjrpa]

Chin up Ed!

You know that all our thoughts and prayers will be for you Ed. They have come a long way in the last few years.

OBTW- I have been driving mine without warranty for at least 30 years!

[TADracer]

You know we all wish you the best. Good luck and I will be sure to send a few prayers skyward for you from down here in Louisiana. Doesnt seem like he listens to us down here much lately but hey, we'll keep try'in for you.

[b.walker5]

You have my best wishes Ed. As you may be aware, my Daughter has just come through a major cancer issue and I'm only too aware of the anguish and uncertainty it causes. One of the things I learnt to fully appreciate was the near miracles that medicine and surgery can perform these days. 40 years ago my mother died of breast cancer, when removing a breast was radical new surgery, and she didnt have it done. These days it's common place and millions of lives are saved every year. I just read something that said the 5 year survival rate for bladder tumors is now over 85%, whereas as little as 10 years ago it was 50% and 20 years ago it was only 20%. Chin up, keep positive. it's not the killer it used to be.

Just a tip. Get very informed. Ask your doctor lots and lots of questions, to the point of being a PIA. Gather as much information as you can, good and bad, from everywhere, and fully understand whats happening and whats being done about it. And also about how to deal with it after it's over. Understanding it and staying positive, and not being blindsided by suprises, is one of the keys to staying as healthy as you can throughout, and having a speedy recovery.

I'm not a religous man, so me praying wont help but my thoughts, and those of my Daughter, are definately with you.

Brian.

[DiverRay]

Ed,
You KNOW I'm here pulling for you! After what I went through with my son, this shouldn't be too bad. As everyone has said, ask questions! the more you know, the better you are able to fight it. The #1 thing I learned from my son is KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! That helps more than some medications!
And hey, if you down for a few months, we can get the bike looking nice!

[planedick]

Very sad

Ed,
I'm really sorry to hear about your cancer. My Dad had the same thing and he had the bag for years. The end wasn't caused by the cancer though, it was the smoking and being a stick welder for 40+ years that filled his lungs with so much smoke that did him in. I'm so sad because you are one of my favorite XSives.
Dick

[CatatonicBug]

Sorry to hear about that, Ed. I can only try to imagine what it would feel like to hear that kind of diagnosis. I don't have any advice to give, but I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Say... In California, does that make you eligible for that medical marijuana thing?

[kjohnson]

Condolences on the bad news. I can still remember the emotions of when my father came home with that news. They wouldn't give any time frame to him, but weren't optimistic. That was about 17-18 years ago. He has been in remission for about 15 years now. As he has leukemia, there isn't much to do aside from chemo (which he refused) and a marrow transplant iirc. He did try some "experimental" treatments that he had to go down to the USA for. I'm sure treatments have made many advancements so as to help people live longer with a lower chance of re-occurance.

Best wishes and I'll keep as many digits crossed as I can for happy results.

[Poprock]

Dear Ed,
Sorry to hear your news. You're on my prayer list.

[petejw]

So sorry to hear about your illness Ed,
hope all goes well for you.
my thoughts are with you.

[fredintoon]

- - - Monday was my biopsy It came back that the tumor is not only malignant, but is an “aggressive” form of cancer, and may have spread to surrounding tissue. I am having a PET scan tomorrow and should get the results Friday. This will give me “the bottom line.” It does look like, one way or another, I am in for at least a couple of months of surgery and/ or chemo and radiation therapy. - - -

Hi Ed,
that's really nasty news. Please accept my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.
Other posts claim the survival rates are up to 85% these days from the 50% of a decade or so in the past.
Better now than then. Or from a century ago when people in their 60s simply "died of old age".

[jwhughes3]

Ed you will be remembered in my prayers...

I hope your recovery is as speedy as your bike! You WILL overcome this.

John

[Ivan]

Sorry to hear about all that. Hope everything turns out ok.