Dennis’s Story: “Don’t be afraid to push a little to get your needs met.”

This story follows Dennis Hiser, whose seemingly routine health concerns slowly unfolded into something far more serious, challenging his assumptions, patience and trust in the medical process. Along the way, he discovered the importance of self-advocacy, second opinions and the unwavering support of loved ones as he navigated unexpected twists in his bladder cancer journey. This is his story:

In 2019, I went to my primary care physician (PCP) as I found blood in my urine. My PCP told me that it is probably kidney stones and that I needed to drink plenty of water. After a few weeks, the blood dissipated, and I felt that I was fine. Eight months later, the blood returned, and I then returned to my PCP. He indicated that there must be more kidney stones, and I needed to drink plenty of water again. Surprisingly, the blood in my urine stopped, but returned two months later.

I was approximately a year into dealing with this and went to another PCP for a second opinion. The new PCP indicated that he wanted me to see a urologist that day. I was hesitant, but called and was able to get an appointment that afternoon with the urologist.

When I arrived at the urologist’s office, I was thinking, “This is such a waste of time.” The urologist became a lifesaver; he did a cystoscopy that day and saw a bleeding patch in my bladder. I was scared, confused, in disbelief and went home.

The biopsy came back a few weeks later as stage 2 bladder cancer. The PCP said that we will start right away using BCG as a treatment. Because there was a shortage of BCG, it wasn’t certain that I could have the treatment I needed. I began to be frightened that I could not get treatment. My urologist said not to worry, he had some stored away for times like mine. I went through the full treatment of a series of BCG and cystoscopies for two years. I felt that I was able to have life again and that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fast forward five years, and I did not have any signs of bladder cancer. In October, I had blood in my urine. Surprised, scared, and in disbelief, I went to the PCP who treated me. He left the bladder office, but I was assigned another urologist. We did a cystoscopy, and there was a patch of dense flesh in the bladder. He explained that it was likely from the previous surgery. A week later, I had a lot of blood in my urine along with clots. The new urologist planned a surgery for me a week later. After the surgery, the urologist had me come into his office and said, ” I don’t see a problem in the bladder; we just need to wait it out.” My wife was insistent on looking deeper, and the urologist again explained that there is nothing wrong with the bladder.

My wife, who is my champion and medical warrior, tracked down my previous urologist and we went to see him. He was puzzled why a surgery was performed if there wasn’t an issue in the bladder. He did another cystoscopy and felt that there could be cancer behind the dense flesh in the bladder. He recommended removing part of my bladder. He was very up front and said that there may not be cancer, but in his experience felt that there was. We did a partial bladder removal and found stage 4 cancer. It was my fear come true; it spread to my bones in my shoulder. It all then made sense why my shoulder was hurting so badly.

Today, I live with stage 4 cancer and do immunotherapy treatments two times a month. It’s incurable, but I am living with it. The experience I want to share is that if you see blood in your urine, get more than one opinion if it isn’t checked out extensively. Make sure that you are comfortable with your urologist. It’s your body. Don’t be afraid to push a little to get your needs met. Through this experience, I found that I grew closer to my wife and God. These parts were fantastic, and I wouldn’t change them. However, to be honest, I wish I didn’t have to go through what I did to get them.