Here's your sign....
I went for a fairly short run on the morning of Jul 25, 2021. Afterward, I noticed a bit of blood in my urine. After some searching on the web, I convinced myself that I had just over-exerted myself and that I would keep an eye on it. I was leaving for a month long trip in the MT/ID/Canadian Rockies and I really didn't see a reason to impact that.
THE sign
About 3 weeks into my trip, I was having a beer in Banff, Alberta and I went to the men's room. Over the urinal was a sign that said "Blood in your Urine? Don't Ignore it. This can be a Sign of Bladder Cancer" That really caught me off guard, even though I had not had any other symptoms since my run the previous month. I felt like someone was trying to tell me something.
Meeting with the specialists
I got back home on Aug 29 and the next day went to my company's Medical Center to get their advice. They put in tough with a Urologist who scoped me that day and told me I needed to get surgery right away. He refused to give me details, just that "he has been around and it is imperative that I get surgery right away" He referred me to 2 leading surgeons in the area- of course, good luck getting in to a leading surgeon on short notice. I felt caught in the middle between a Urologist that was scaring the hell out of me and specialists who did not have an opening in the next six weeks.
Surgery
I went back to my company's Medical Office and to ask the advice of the company physician. Fortunately, he had a close relationship with a different Urology Surgeon. He called while I sat there, asked his advice, and scheduled my for a TURBT the next business day. The surgery went well, and he removed an approximately 1.5cm T1HG tumor with CIS.
Unsure of the future ahead
All in all, from the time I went to the doctor to my TURBT was less than two weeks. Of course, I wasted a month because I ignored the symptoms. My doctors and I believe that my running habit exposed my disease much earlier than than it would have been otherwise. Even though BCG treatments drag me down, I try to continue running for general health and as another way to "diagnose" my current condition. As a matter of fact, whenever I am worried about whether my Bladder Cancer is coming back, I go back and run that exact same route I ran back in July that started this whole journey.
This is my story.
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