Radical IndeedAfter most of 2020 dealing with nuisance symptoms like urgency and producing small foreign objects when I, then a major symptom; About 12 times a day I was having what...reactions1comment
My Dog Knew I Was SepticWe can all agree that our pets are very intuitive. They just seem to "know" when something is wrong and, in their own way, try to help. Early on in...reactions4comments
Helping to Shape the Future for OstomatesI have to say. I often feel so privileged for the rewarding opportunities having been through a bladder cancer journey and becoming an ostomate has brought me. Of course, like...reactionscomments
A Letter to Newly Diagnosed MeLet me start there. You are so beautiful and have an inner strength that will change lives, even if you don't know it yet. You have suffered in silence, with...reactions5comments
Walking Back Into the WardAlmost 5 years after I left the ward where I was post-surgery, I walked back in here tonight. Tonight, as the workday was drawing to a close for many Glaswegians...reactionscomments
Who Is Nurse Anita?Nurse Anita, aka Anita Nurse, aka the Stoma Whisperer or the Stoma Doula. I'm all of those things, but mostly I consider myself a healer. I just happen to have...reactions2comments
Not Another Coloring BookLet's get in the time machine and go back to September 2019. I was freshly healed from my radical cystectomy, starting to get acquainted with having a urostomy and grappling...reactions2comments
26 Year Old with Bladder CancerStarting in early October of 2022 I had a bout of hematuria which mostly presented itself as blood clots in my urine and orange pee at the end of my...reactions34comments
Happy to Still Be Alive!In Jan 2017, I turned 68. In 68 years, I was pretty healthy, with 4 operations in all those years (3 after age 65), nothing out of the ordinary. In...reactions6comments
5 Years Clear!The 1st of November 2017. This is a date I will never forget. A date that will always have great significance in my life. A day I will continue to...reactionscomments
Cold Weather Ostomy HacksThere I stood at my bathroom counter, a third failed bag in the trash, and staring daggers at my stoma. Nothing I did could get my ostomy bag to stick...reactions3comments
High Grade Urothelial CarcinomaI slipped on the ice (Christmas Eve) and fell hard. Within the hour, I noticed blood in my urine. The blood was present for 2 days. I went to the...reactions13comments
Living With a Retracted StomaToday I am looking at the impact of living with a retracted stoma. If your bladder cancer treatment plan includes surgery to remove your bladder, known as a radical cystectomy...reactions1comment
Cancer: A Hereditary HangoverA cancer diagnosis in the family, I've come to learn, has long-term effects for more than just the patient. In the beginning, when I first received the news that my...reactions4comments
Reclaiming My NormalI have declared 2023 as the year I will reclaim my normal. In 2019 I was diagnosed with what should have been terminal bladder cancer. 2020 brought about COVID. 2021...reactions1comment
Truly Loving My Birthday Once AgainTo anyone who knows me well, I have always loved birthdays. I am writing this a few days before my 46th birthday. In fact, I always liked to think I...reactions3comments
My New BirthdayI am calling today my new birth date because on this day last year (2022) I was “snatched from the jaws of death”. I went to the emergency room complaining...reactions3comments
Urostomies: Sharing Our Knowledge with Each OtherI have often wondered if a urostomy is something that most healthcare professionals - doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, techs - know and understand. From the information I have gleaned from...reactions20comments
Community Views: Your Bladder Cancer VictoriesLiving with bladder cancer is never easy. But, thankfully, there can be wins and milestones worth celebrating along the way. As last year came to a close, we wanted to...reactions1comment
Dealing With Illness and Ostomies: Late Night ThoughtsDo you have late-night thoughts? I think we all do at some point. There is always a night you can't sleep for one reason or another. It could be a...reactionscomments
