A cystoscopy is a widely used procedure that involves, not to put too fine a point on it, inserting a flexible tube with a camera on the end into the urethra. The tube is then passed up into the bladder which allows the doctor to see the inner wall of the bladder. When they send you the appointment they send a very informative little leaflet from which i quote ".. a simple and painless procedure". They lied.
Think of this: the flexible tube is wide enough to contain the camera and a light source. That means it's several millimetres diameter, and to be honest, unless you're hung like a donkey, which I most certainly am NOT, it friggin' well hurts!
I have to say that it is an extremely odd feeling, which unless you have experienced it is very difficult to describe. I will add that one male colleague at work, on hearing I was having a cystoscopy, at in my blissful ignorance at that time, said "yes, I had one of those once", and walked away with a smile on his face. Now I know why!
So, the upshot was that the doctor found what appeared to be a small polyp like growth inside the bladder. "That's what we think is causing the bleeding" he said. It is certainly an odd feeling seeing a crystal clear real time image of the inside of your bladder on a TV screen. "We will book you in after the New Year for a similar procedure but done with a non flexible tube (double ouch!) under general anaesthetic."
The booking was made before I left, and set for 16th January. At this point there was no drama. a single small growth inside the bladder, would be removed in January and while it would need to be sent for biopsy, in 99% of cases the whole growth is removed, and while there is then a need for regular check ups over time that would normally be the end of tumour problem. The worst thing I had to look forward to was a cystoscopy every few months.
Christmas was upon us soon enough, and then the New Year and in pretty quick time the day of the operation was here. Arrive at 7.30 am they said, and so I did.
The sudden realisation that you have cancer hits you like a sledgehammer. On 9th February after 2 months of tests and all sorts thats what they told me. In more ways than one it's a life-changing moment and your mind goes into overdrive thinking all kinds of worst case scenarios.
