Female

Editor’s note: BCAN had the pleasure of speaking with Sebrena on her bladder cancer diagnosis anniversary. When asked how she felt about being a one-year survivor, she stated “I am stronger in one sense, but the struggle is still present.”  This is her story. In March 2022, I noticed… Read More

Watch Shoba’s TedX talk about her journey The first symptom I had for my first cancer was blood in my urine.  I had already had a kidney transplant when I was 23, seven years prior to that, so I had constant follow up appointments with a nephrologist. Read More

At the age of 22, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. For eight months, I had been experiencing bloating, burning during urination and abdominal pain. Initially, I thought it might be hormonal due to stopping my birth control. This prompted me to see my gynecologist, who told me I was… Read More

I was no stranger to hearing the words “you have cancer” because bladder cancer was my third cancer and fourth cancer diagnosis. Many people would think that learning of my diagnosis, I would be scared and shocked, but it was the opposite. Despite my illnesses, I have always maintained a… Read More

“Cancer was the last thing on my mind” Cancer was the last thing on my mind when I started noticing blood in my urine and having abdominal pain. I underwent extensive fertility treatments in 2021 to have my baby and was 16 weeks pregnant when I first saw the bleeding. Read More

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

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

My journey with cancer started 14 years ago when I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. I had a hysterectomy, and no further treatment was necessary. But after I healed, I experienced intermittent spotting a few times a year. I had it checked out thoroughly, and my oncologist assured me… Read More