Rny/cancer/Sleeve

Hello everyone!

I've been on the RNY and Ontario forums this past year because well, I live in Ontario, and was going through the process for RNY.

But then,just before meeting the surgeon to sign papers for surgery it was discovered I have bladder cancer.

*face palm*

So I've been undergoing treatments and the plan is to kick cancer into remission, get a sleeve, lose weight, then have the bladder removed.

Let's get 'er done!

I have had my whole head and mentality wrapped around an RNY and now have to understand the sleeve and what to expect and what my nutrition will be like afterwards.

So here I am...

I am very sorry to read about your bladder cancer diagnosis, and I wish you well with the treatment process.  There are a few of us on the boards here who are dealing with cancer and have the sleeve, although not the type of cancer you are facing (as far as I know).  I was diagnosed with skin cancer, and that was the triggering factor for me to pursue the sleeve surgery... to help reduce the risk of future issues.  My oncologist said the weight that I have lost was the number one thing I could do to help prevent future cancer, so I think you have a good plan.  Take good care of yourself and if there is anything I can do always feel free to PM me. Oh, and I live in metro Detroit so we are neighbors!

Hi, nice to meetcha!  How are you dealing with the weather down there?  Here in Ottawa, it's currently mild, but that has just served to turn everything to a sheet of ice.

Doin' the penguin walk.

Yesterday nice temperatures with some rain--- and it turned everything into a sheet of ice with a layer of water over it.  Lol on the penguin comment!

Good luck with all that and welcome! This is a great place to learn. Read, ask, take part in the conversations. We are all learning as we go. I have found the sleeve to be fabulous for me. Had no complications, easy recovery, no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting, no issues at all really. I think I lost slower than a bunch on here but in the grand scheme of things its just fine. I went from a size 20 or 2X to small and 6-8 in most clothes. No nutritional issues, I take the following daily vitamin regiment: one multi, 1000 mgs calcium citrate with D3 and magnesium, one folic acid with B6 and 12 sublingually and a vitamin A coz I was low at one point. All the blood work comes back spot on with that. Sometimes I am not so diligent but overall I am 80% compliant with vites. I eat a lot of fish for the protein and the omegas and truly I haven't had a day of regret or fatigue or illness as a result of the sleeve, on the contrary, I am healthier than I have been in 15 years since the weight came on.

wish you the best with the bladder and the sleeve. 

Wow - that's a kick in the pants.  But I'm assuming that they found it because you were going through tests for RNY, in which case, if true, is a real blessing!

Your nutrition after sleeve will be very similar if not the same, as it would be for RNY.  Same with supplements, which for some reason was a shocker for me.  Since we can't physically eat enough calories full of the good stuff, we need the boost of supplements.  Every Nutritionist is different, but mine has me on a multi-vitamin, calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, and Magnesium. I see from the boards that Iron is also frequently recommended, but so far I haven't had an issue with it.

My brother had RNY, and I had lap band revised to sleeve.  So anecdotally, I'll compare them for you (RNY vs. Sleeve).  For the first year, my brother had a really hard time with eating.  He never learned to eat slowly and chew thoroughly, so many meals he'd have to excuse himself half way through the meal and go vomit. Please note that I'm not saying this is the same with all RNY patients - my brother wanted a magic bullet and wasn't willing to put the work in after the surgery.  Since I was discharged from the hospital, I've not vomited once; not even close.  

My brother also couldn't eat sweets without "dumping".  I watched him do this after a few sips of wine once.  Dumping is normally not an issue for VSG patients, although you'll see folks that swear they've experienced it (I personally believe it's low blood sugar).  

With both surgeries there is a window of opportunity to lose the weight and change your habits until it becomes more work.  My brother has regained a lot of the weight he lost and says that he can eat just like he did prior to RNY.  

Both surgeries will teach you not to drink with your meals, and that your meals should be protein first, veggies second, and starch only if you have room for it.  Both surgeries have equivalent statistics about percentage of weight loss experienced.  Both surgeries are good (as is the DS).  Lap Band is bad, period.

 The difference between my brother and I is not the surgery type we had.  It's the compliance to the plan afterwards.  The surgery is only the starting line.  You still have to expend a whole lot of effort towards getting to that finish line.

Good luck to you!

Thanks for that helpful information Sandy!

Nope...i discovered the cancer all by my lil' ol' self. *cheesy grin*

I have to emphasize this...the blood was very, very minimal.  And only lasted 1/2 day both times.

Thankfully I work in a hospital, and know most of the staff.  After the 2nd time, we fast tracked everything.  I am so fortunate to have the knowledge to have demanded further inquiry.  Nothing really showed up in blood tests, so I requested an ultrasound.  Nothing there...normal and peachy keen.  So I requested a cytoscopy (a camera inserted into the urethra).  And there on the screen was an itty bitty teeny tiny tumor,

IF I had waited and procrastinated, and only pursued things when there was a lot of blood, the tumor may very well have progressed to the muscle wall of the bladder.  IF that had happened, there would have been IMMEDIATE removal of bladder and all the lady bits.

But we caught it in time...we can keep knocking it into remission with treatments so that I can lose the weight first before taking it out...and leave my lady bits intact.

Be vigilant peeps.  *hugs*

My grandmother had bladder cancer and for years she would go in and have the polyps and tumors removed but never had to get the bladder removed. Will they create a bladder for you out of some other tissue or organ? Is the treatment radio or chemotherapy? I recall my grandmother never had either, just going in for the scrape regularly. Either way, doesn't sound like fun but glad that you found it early.

Hello Wantmylife!

My cancer is pretty much the most aggressive kind you can get.  With your grandmother, it was most likely a slower growing kind, and with careful monitoring they could remove the tumors before they hit the muscle wall.

See...bladders have a lining, and then the muscular wall.  As long as tumors stay confined to the lining, yer good...just remove them as they pop up.  But once they hit the muscle, it's a whole other ball game...because then it can spread to uterus, cervix, ovaries.

My doc...because of the nature of my kind of cancer, is nervous to leave my bladder in (and frankly, so am I).  There are 3 major options 1)urine is directed from the kidneys to a stoma, and a bag is attached to collect the urine  2) A neo bladder is created using part of your intestine...you can then, with training, learn how to pee normally again  3)An Indiana pouch, where a pouch is created from part of your intestine to hold the urine, and then you have to empty it several times a day with a catheter through a stoma in your tummy.

The treatment is something called BCG. Essentially it's a weakened form of a TB vaccine of all things.  The idea is to inflame the bladder so the the immune response is triggered.  This is inserted with a catheter into your bladder once a week, for a length of time.

i am incredibly fortunate that we caught the tumor before it hit the muscle.  With careful vigilance, we can hopefully remove tumors, blast it with rounds of BCG, and keep it at bay until I lose weight.

God bless you, I'm so glad you had the knowledge to insist that they keep checking.  I pray that you get cancer free and get sleeved soon.