Mets Day 946: Blood in my urine again?!

Almost exactly three years ago - November 12, 2011 - I had blood and bloody mucus in my urine. That started my one-way trip down the rabbit hole of bladder cancer. Since then, I've had eight surgeries, two rounds of chemotherapy, 17 CT/PET scans, two organs removed, ongoing nocturnal incontinence, retired from my legal practice, been classified as totally disabled, and developed a greater spiritual understanding of life and death.

Last night, I saw another bloody chunk issue with my urine. I was surprised at how fast I was spun back to November 12, 2011. This roller coaster just doesn't stop, I thought. At 8:40 pm I emailed doctors Apolo and Aragon-Ching:

This evening I had some bright red bloody mucus in my urine. I don't know if it is related to my switch to Xarelto, or something else related to my neobladder, or perhaps my kidneys, or nothing to worry about. I have a CT scan and clinic appointment with Dr. Apolo on Tuesday, November 18. Please advise whether I should do anything prior to then. Thank you for your ongoing care.

At 10:06 pm, Dr. Apolo responded:

Likely due to Xarelto. Please monitor the blood in your urine over the next 24-48hrs, if it worsens or does not improve you will need to be assessed. Gloria will call you tomorrow morning to follow-up.

 At 6:36 am this morning, Dr. Aragon-Ching added:

I agree with Dr. Apolo...most likely from Xarelto, but also ensure adequate hydration...who has been the Urologist you've been seeing mostly? is it Dr. Schoenberg or Dr. Frazier? we may have to re-connect with them if the bleeding doesn't ease up ....and see what the scan shows

Wow. I'm glad that my doctors are as conscientious as they are, responding to emails late at night or before dawn. I replied to both at 8:14 am:

Thank to both of you for your quick response. So far I've seen no additional blood. I'll let Gloria know if I see more, otherwise I'll plan on seeing Dr. Apolo on Tuesday. I have not seen a urologist since early 2013 (it was Dr. Michael Phillips, one of Dr. Frazier's colleagues who specialized in incontinence, who helped me with the imipramine). I understand that Mark Schoenberg left Hopkins earlier this year to become chief of urology at Einstein/Montefiore. I'm ok with going back to Dr. Fraizer if needed, or I could reach out to Dr. Trinity Bivalaqua at Hopkins, who repaired a stricture in my neobladder in September 2012.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.