Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

“It is our hope that the My Bladder Cancer Story campaign will be an avenue for those affected by bladder cancer to share their stories to be a voice for those who, for far too long, have felt alone in this fight against this disease.”

Andrea Maddox-Smith, BCAN CEO
Share Your Story
  • Dancing Her Way through Bladder Cancer – Anne Doesn’t Miss a Beat

    A New Hampshire native, Anne Theriault now lives in Maryland. Anne spent many years in non-traditional careers with the US Army and in the Bureau of Prisons. She deployed four times to combat zones. Anne began taking up ballroom dancing after a challenging combat tour in Iraq. “I just did… Read More
  • Jill Fights for a Normal Life

    Bladder cancer can be a sneaky disease. Sometimes you have very few symptoms until things hit a critical mass.  For me, that happened in the form of a suspected urinary tract infection (UTI). I’ve had UTI’s my whole adult life, so the latest one in summer of 2012 didn’t seem… Read More
  • Matthew’s Bladder Cancer Story

    2016 was the scariest year of my life. I urinated blood around Christmas in 2015, and a CAT scan in February 2016 found a tumor.  I had a cystectomy on April 1 and the results were determined to be an aggressive cancer. Next, was another cystectomy which saved me from… Read More
  • Brenda’s Road to Cancer Freedom

    In December 2001, my life changed when I was diagnosed with bladder cancer.  In the summer of 2001, I noticed urinary changes that I attributed to turning 48 years old.  Continency and frequency became issues and my urine turned cloudy with a tinge of darkish red from time to time. … Read More
  • Clinical trial patients…are never forgotten.

    BCAN asked Dr. Andrea Apolo, Chief of the Bladder Cancer Section of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch of the National Cancer Institute, what researchers learn from bladder cancer patients who do not survive in a clinical trial. This is what she shared with us: Mr. Read More
  • Rick’s Neobladder Story

    Like others, I had symptoms without a bladder cancer diagnosis for some time – urgency and frequency for eighteen months.  I had discussed both with my physician after about nine months. He said that I was getting old (I was only 48!) and my father had prostate cancer.  Knowing that I… Read More