My Bladder Cancer Symptoms: "They Initially Thought it was a UTI" - Ebony | The Patient Story

You have a wonderful man for sure. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and within a month my husband said I can’t do this. So we decided to divorce and I had to except that not everyone can handle this diagnosis but I certainly will and have slayed cancer like a warrior ❤

🇯🇲Bladder cancer is seldomly thought to be a possibility with: 1) women 2) young, women 3) young, black, women 4) young, black, women who neither drink, smoke or work with certain chemicals I was quickly diagnosed in my very early 20s via an ultrasound that showed the tumor lodged inside the bladder. Take courage. God is able. He still heals. I'll be 60 this year. No issues. No cancer. By the way, not many wear a bald well. You did so gorgeously.😊 Few things if you don't mind: 1) Be mindful about your diet 2) Try as best to maintain a positive mind and deal with things in a pragmatic way 3) Deal with all hurts, regrets and disappointments of the past 4) Develop a healthy relationship with the Lord 5) Speak life, words are powerful. Do not personalize it. It's "the" cancer not "my" cancer 6) Be careful about what you say(your conversations), watch, read and to what you listen 7) Be very mindful about your conversations and the persons with whom you share the deep detail while on this leg of the journey. All the very best.....blessings.

I'm in the midst of battling bladder cancer....My partner decided to leave after my first surgery in 2021, so it's me and my mother. Thank you mom.

It's a shame doctors are so dismissive with patients who seek help from them. When my bestfriend started complaining to me about symptoms he was having, I immediately made an appointment for him. I just knew he had bladder cancer, yet his doctor doubted it; but because I wouldn't allow her to be so dismissive, she referred him to a urologist. A week later we found out he had a tumor the size of a golf ball and other small ones...Cancer was starting to spread! Thankfully, they were able to remove all cancerous tumors, and chemo shrunk the rest. He's been cancer free 7 yrs now!

I was misdiagnosed for two full years. My doc kept saying it was IBS and that stress was causing my symptoms (basically, he thought I was imagining them). When it got to the point where I was having nose bleeds, sick to my stomach, and passing out, he was still saying the same (talking about women and “emotions” and “female stress”). I said I have never heard of stress causing nose bleeds or losing consciousness - he said you would be surprised what symptoms stress can cause. I was having blood taken weekly for tests and he kept telling me that everything came back fine. I was getting these super dark marks under my eyes and I was barely making it through my days - I went to one of my (weekly at this point) appts one day. My normal doc forgot to cancel my appt before he went out of town so they said they had a new female doc that could see me if I was ok with that and I said that was fine. That doc saved my life!!! She found all through my med records where all those blood tests they had been running for literally two years showed my counts all over the place. The lab kept highlighting the results and saying that he needed to meet with the patient (me) - my doc would sign off that he saw the results but then never signed off as having contacted me regarding them. This was a Friday - so that female doc had a female oncologist friend from med school that was top in their class. She called her that day, faxed her my records, and had me set up with an appointment that following Monday. They had me rushed in for surgery 2 weeks later - they didn’t think I would survive the surgery, much less any chance of any years. My oncologist said it makes her so angry these male docs that don’t take women seriously and just assume that we are being “so emotional” when what she finds is that we tend to pay attention to our bodies. She made me promise that if I ever questioned a doctors diagnosis, that I seek a 2nd, 3rd, or however many opinions that I need to - because we know our bodies best. (Because it was in my med records a bunch of times that I had already had cancer before and I kept thinking the cancer was back - I thought surely my doc knew better than me since he had all the blood tests). Since all of this, I have trusted my instincts because you are right - they are “practicing”/learning as they go. Like you, I also had a very aggressive cancer. I think anyone who has ever had a cancer diagnosis remembers the moment of being told. It’s like everything they say after that just falls away. I remember asking her if I was going to die and she said she just honestly didn’t know. One thing I unfortunately learned after my cancer diagnosis was who my friends truly were. I thought I had so many friends, but once I was diagnosed, they just disappeared from my life (including my guy, who I wouldn’t have thought would have just walked away). I had very few people left in my life when it was all said and done. I was in my late twenties at the time - it was the hardest time of my life… I will never forget putting together my will so my little boy would be taken care of. But I’m now a 3-time cancer survivor, and I have made it through!!!

My sister died from the same type of cancer, and she was misdiagnosed for 2 years. She died at 60, my sister was an angel. God bless you.

Ebony, thank you for sharing your story. I’m going to make an appointment with a urologist next week. I’m 74, retired RN with systematic lupus. I’m having bladder infections several times a year now and I need to have another cystoscopy. I’ve had several colleagues die from bladder cancer. They were old white women, retired RNs like me. Again, Ebony, thank you for encouraging me. I needed it.

My sister is battling stage 4 bladder cancer… my love and prayers are with her, you and everyone fighting this horrid disease. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

Doctors with dimissive atitudes who treat sick people like mere bussiness transactions are sickening.

I was 29 years old when I was diagnosed I am 31 now I am so glad I came across this video 🙏❤️

She’s absolutely stunning

I sure do love Ebony. She is gorgeous, smart, and resourceful. She sure did go through hell before she was finally listened to. Thank goodness she kept saying, “Something is NOT right here”. I hope you have fully recovered, and are doing well.

A clap 👏 for your husband who understood your situation.

I speak Jesus over you and your family Ebony. I'm going through treatment for Breast cancer, it's not easy but with God all things are possible.❤

I’ve had bladder cancer three times. My only symptom was blood in my urine-a lot of blood! No pain, no discomfort or fever. I was at my doctor’s office the next day. When he saw my urine sample, he immediately called another doctor who agreed to wait for me after office hours. That was on a Tuesday; I had surgery on Thursday. Because my doctor listened to me and acted immediately, it was caught early before it had invaded the bladder wall. I watched the surgery and saw the tumor before it went to pathology. It was the size of a man’s thumb, Two years later, it returned. Same symptom. Same procedure. This time it was the size of a man’s finger knuckle. Once again it came back. The size of a pencil eraser. I had yearly checkups for twelve years. The last surgery was over 25 years old; I just celebrated my 80th birthday. I’ve moved three times since then and every doctor I’ve seen asked me if I ever smoked. I had for ten years but had given it up 18 years before the cancer. I learned that smoking is the biggest cause of bladder cancer, even if you’ve given it up decades ago.

I feel this. I had stage 1 bladder cancer two years ago now. I spent 6 months trying to get someone to listen to me. They kept checking me for UTIs and, when I finally got an appointment with the urologist, they basically told me I was probably imaging things. Just as they said that they turned the camera and there was a huge tumor. I’ll never forget their, “That’s not supposed to be there.” Thank you for sharing your story.

Ladies, please if you have any concerns about bladder problems make sure you make a lot of noise with the medical profession. My daughter had UTIs for 20 years and constantly fobbed off with antibiotics, long and very painful story later she died on April 10th 2021 aged 39 leaving 5 children behind. She would be 42 tomorrow. May God bless you all and keep you safe.

This video popped up randomly and I immediately recognized her from our alma mater.💙💛 Grateful that she shared her story to help others be vigilant about their bodies/health.

My mother had bladder cancer. Although she was over 60, the doctors originally overlooked things because she was Black, a non smoker, and non drinker. Unfortunately, she lost her battle with the disease. We also had never heard of bladder cancer.

What’s wonderful husband you have ❤. My brother has just been diagnosed with bladder cancer so he is just starting this journey.