Stories

In December 2019, I had a tiny bit of blood in my urine, which prompted me to see my primary doctor. He believed that it was a bladder or urinary tract infection and gave me antibiotics, which made me feel better. Later that week, I was scheduled for an appointment… Read More

Bladder cancer runs in the family My bladder cancer journey started in 2019 when I was diagnosed with stage one non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. However, this was not the first time I heard about this disease. In 2014, my father was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He spent his career working… Read More

Krisztina Emodi is a nurse practitioner at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).  She works very closely with Dr. Sima Porten, a urologic cancer surgeon, a researcher at UCSF and a 2022 Walk to End Bladder Cancer ambassador. Krisztina Emodi Krisztina and Dr. Porten have been involved… Read More

In March of 2014, I was diagnosed with stage two bladder cancer. I went in for my annual check-up with my general practitioner and he saw something in my blood work that he did not like, so he requested I do another blood draw. During the next six weeks, I… Read More

Lionel Cohen is a 25-year bladder cancer survivor and credits his longevity to his decision to opt for a neobladder more than two decades ago, and also to the skill and expertise of Dr. Gary Steinberg, his surgeon. Lionel was diagnosed with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in 1997 at… Read More

I was diagnosed with bladder cancer in October 2020 at the age of 58 but experienced symptoms two years before the diagnosis. On New Year’s Day in 2018, I noticed that I was passing what looked like blood clots. I just thought maybe I had too much champagne, or I… Read More

Before my diagnosis, I associated my symptoms with going through menopause; I was 55 when diagnosed. I had bleeding (hematuria) once before and decided to see my nurse practitioner. While there, they did a urinalysis and said everything was fine. The doctor confirmed my thinking that this was related… Read More

February 10, 2021 is a day I will never forget.  This was the day I was told I had abnormal cells and growths in my bladder, according to the cytology report and cystoscopy.  I was devastated, and my mind was racing to the darkest places I could have… Read More

My bladder cancer story began following minor surgery for vein ablation. After that, I was placed on a blood thinner.  Shortly thereafter, I noticed blood in my urine.  I was referred to a urologist who performed a cystoscopy and discovered what turned out to be a high-grade non-invasive carcinoma-in-situ. Read More