Articles

Immunotherapy is an incredibly expensive cancer treatment. On average, it can cost a patient over 100,000 dollars per year in drug costs alone for this life-saving treatment. Oftentimes due to...

Dale shared insight on his journey and how this experience has informed how he carries himself through life after bladder cancer and a radical cystectomy. I was diagnosed with stage...

Tomorrow I begin 6 weeks of intravesical chemotherapy induction with gemcitabine. I am feeling less anxious than I did two weeks ago. After all, I have been too busy planning...

Prior to my bladder cancer journey, I was probably the weakest person I knew when it came to anything medical. In the later years before her passing, my mother-in-law was...

We asked the ostomates among our patient leader team, "what advice would you give someone who was feeling unsure about reconstructive bladder surgery?" Our group shed some invaluable, down-to-earth perspectives...

Medical appointments are hectic. Often times you are meeting with several people and covering many different issues in what feels like a rush. I know my oncologist can seem like...

Looking Back Through Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell. Great song for this old hippie guitar man. For my purposes today let's substitute cancer for clouds. Think it applies to...

I was diagnosed with late-stage aggressive bladder cancer in September 2017. The months that followed were a whirlwind in many respects. On one hand, there was always that next consultation...

It's the most wonderful time of the year for many people. But for you, it might be the most solitary time. Perhaps you live too far away from your family...

I was diagnosed with stage 4, muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the fall of 2017. In November 2017, I underwent a total pelvic exenteration (TPE) with an aim to cure the...

From weeks to months to years, each bladder cancer diagnosis is unique. It feels like a long slog, regardless of the length of time. Curious about the process in this...

It finally happened. Two years into treatment and I received the scan report I had been hoping for. The report read "no evidence of disease recurrence or progression". This means...

In March of 2020, I was invited to join the patient advisory board for the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition. The board consists of members across the globe, with various...

When I first started patient advocacy I was told I needed to find my "why." My reason for advocacy is what would make my work genuine and ensure others would...

I've heard many cancer survivors say that they remember exactly where they were or what they were doing when they found out they had cancer. I imagine this has to be...

My name is Laura. I live with two stomas - a colostomy and a urostomy. A colostomy for the removal of feces and a urostomy for the removal of urine...

Today my husband and I planted the bulbs in our pots in the garden which will bloom in spring. For many, this is a yearly activity which is probably just...

A bladder cancer diagnosis can come about in different ways. You may have symptoms that lead to testing. Your doctor may find signs during a routine exam. Other times, treating...

The weather has finally turned chilly and the leaves are putting on their best show of fall colors. With the great outdoors calling my name I decided to take back...

I often talk to others in the bladder cancer communities and people are always curious how I became a bladder cancer advocate. The answer is a lot simpler than one...