Audrey was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2017, here is her first-person account of her experience.
I was diagnosed with a tumour in my bladder in Dec of 2017. My surgery was at the end of that December where they removed the tumour and it was cancerous.
“I had cancer” was a real blow to my world! I had many questions, like “how long do I have to live”, “what would my treatments be like” and “how sick would I get”.
They weren’t certain that they had gone deep enough to get a sample of the bladder wall behind the tumour, so I needed a second surgery to check that out. If it goes further into the wall, then other things, like treatments and further surgery, would need to be considered. To my relief, the cancer had not gone further, however, I did suffer a bladder rupture. I got very sick, I was vomiting and suffered with discharging large clots of blood when I peed. They put in a large catheter with a bag to let the big clots pass and for the bladder to heal. After 7 days, when they removed the large catheter, it was amazing that the bladder had healed on its own.
After my bladder rupture healed, I received 6 weeks of BCG treatments. I then had checkups and BCG treatments every three months for three weekly sessions for the remainder of that year. Because of shortage of BCG, my treatments lapsed a bit. The following year, my treatments and checkups were scheduled for every six months. So, my treatments spanned over about a 2 1/2 year period. My first couple of sets of treatments were a breeze. However, I started having more flu like symptoms the day of the treatments. I started having more nausea, more pain and some blood when peeing. I was prescribed with a cancer anti-nausea medication which helped tremendously. I discovered if I drank a lot of water the day of the treatment and the next few days, that the pain subsided a bit. Also, with the omission of coffee for me, the pain was a little less too.
During my last treatment, the catheter was inserted incorrectly. Unfortunately, this lead to more pain. This resulted in a bladder infection, which was undiagnosed for a couple of months. I had gone back to the doctor, and asked “why do I still have so much pain and have to urinate so often?”. This resulted in about another month and a half of pain when peeing and trying to carry on with daily tasks. Travel was difficult, going for a short walk was painful, and getting up several times at night was a great annoyance. When the bladder infection was gone, things finally got back to normal.
“I started painting at the beginning of my cancer journey. It was a form of distraction from the constant thoughts of dealing with cancer. “
I had taken a couple of painting classes previously, and now I started painting on my own. I love to paint! I have painted with our grandchildren, and recently I have taught painting classes in an RV Park in Arizona where we have spent our winters.
I am very thankful that I have not had another tumour. With every yearly checkup, I always experience some anxiety and trepidation. I have been told that a reoccurrence of bladder cancer can still arise after several years. After every annual checkup, I feel relief and thank God for the health I am enjoying. I remain fairly active physically with walking and, biking and I try to maintain a healthy diet. Life is great!
Looking back, I wish I would have had a support group of some kind, whether it was a one-on-one, or in a group setting. It would have been nice to talk to someone who had experienced bladder cancer and treatments. I didn’t know what to expect and found myself feeling all alone in this. It would have been great just to chat with a support person.
“That’s why, about 2 years ago, I became a One2One Peer Support Volunteer with Bladder Cancer Canada where I am able to speak over the phone with new bladder cancer patients. This has been a great experience for me to support other people, when I had no one to talk to.”
My husband and friends were a great support, but to talk to someone who has gone through this journey would have been a great asset. Then last Fall, I became a Support Group Lead in Saskatchewan. We’re still looking for more participants in our group, to be able to chat and encourage each other. I’m sure there are others who would appreciate a support group, so I would greatly encourage anyone who is dealing with bladder cancer, to contact Bladder Cancer Canada for direction and support.
