May is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month

I've talked a lot about cancer in my last two blogs but not a lot about the specifics of Bladder Cancer and my struggles in getting a diagnosis. Sadly my story is not an unusual one as many women with Bladder Cancer go un-diagnosed for far too long, sometimes with devastating consequences.

Bladder Cancer is not something I had ever really heard of until my diagnosis. Even when I had a few symptoms and turned to Dr Google for advice: it assured me that Bladder Cancer was an old man's disease, very rare in women and extremely rare in young people.

My own GP sent me away on countless occasions, dismissing my symptoms as UTI's for several months Now here is the important bit! My symptoms: It started with painless gross heamaturia (visible blood in my urine) that lasted a couple of days at a time. The bleeding went away again only to come back about a month or so later, at the same time I began to notice that I needed the loo a lot more often. All these symptoms suddenly got a lot worse the week before our wedding and this time I was sent to the hospital with suspected kidney stones.

There was so much blood that it was impossible to test for any signs of infection and I felt pretty well within myself. I was sent for a CT scan and after hours of waiting we were told that they couldn't find anything wrong with me. I was told it was most likely kidney stones that I must have already passed and I was sent home with another healthy dose of antibiotics. Luckily my symptoms cleared up again within a couple of days and we were able to have the most amazing wedding, safe in the knowledge that there was nothing sinister going on.

The next month the blood came back and again the month after. At the same time the urgency was getting a lot worse, I was going to the toilet over 20 times a day and becoming desparate very quickly, I was also starting to experience sharp abdominal pains. I began to keep a diary of all these occurrences and went back to my GP for more help. This time they thought it could be Endometriosis and we were told that if we wanted a family it might be a good idea to start trying sooner rather than later as endometriosis can affect fertility. We were reffeared to a specialist for more tests but never made it that far. We found out we were pregnant at the beginning of February and the rest shall we say is history.

It was the worst and best possible timing, depending on how you choose to look at things. This tiny little human had saved my life at just 7 weeks old! Finally my symptoms were being taken seriously and we were being fast tracked through the system in order to get the best possible treatment for us both.

In the UK alone more than 10,000 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and it's one of
the most common cancers globally. Despite these statistics most people don't know about Bladder Cancer because it is rarely ever talked about.

Bladder Cancer has a reputation for being an old mans disease, usually being diagnosed in men over the age of 60. However Bladder Cancer can effect anyone at any age. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all but the main one to watch out for is blood in the urine that comes and goes. Other  less common ones are burning when you pass urine, the need to go to the toilet much more often and rarely, pain in the abdomen and lower part of your back.

As my operation drew closer my symptoms also took a turn for the worse, I needed the toilet so often that leaving the house became very difficult. I was in constant pain and the bleeding became much heavier, which at less than 12 weeks pregnant, and at one stage part of my tumour actually came away and was passed in the toilet. It was pretty terrifying and became a game of mind over matter. By the time my operation date came around I was actually desperate to get to hospital and the relief I felt after the operation was amazing.

My recover from my TURBT, although draining was nothing in comparison to the symptoms I had been experiencing in the few weeks before and I have to keep reminding myself that I still need to take it easy otherwise I am in danger of doing myself more damage.

May is Bladder Cancer Awareness month and I wanted to write this blog to raise awareness for an illness that many people don't talk, or even know about! Please share this blog and make people you know aware of the signs and symptoms of Bladder Cancer!

I have also included links to a couple of sites that I found amazing during my diagnosis, to help you learn more about this disease, the symptoms everyone should watch out for and how you can help.

http://actionbladdercanceruk.org/
http://fightbladdercancer.co.uk/get-involved/bladder-cancer-awareness-month

Katie xxx