Living with Bladder Cancer

My name is Felipe, 62, and I live in Peru; Last year in August I had a severe case of hematuria and I visited my physician, after clinical exams and excreting urography, and echography with medical reports of finding nothing abnormal, and not having visible blood traces in my urine…….I made my first big mistake and decided not continue with the cytoscopy.

Before last Christmas I had a second and bigger hematuria episode, but being so close to the holidays I decided not to worry my family and postpone my visit to my doctor..and that was my second mistake. Last month, in January 26th. I went to a rutinary oncological check provided by my oncological health insurance supplier, and keeping in mind my hematuria episodes I insisted in a bladder echography,and there it was….a very clear one inch tumor. Immediately I went to mu oncologist who made a biopsy confirming a bladder cancer most probably Ta type, and inmediately decided to make a transuretal resection, which was made three days ago with good results and a good prognosis………..and why I feel lucky? because after all the mistakes I made, the failure to find the tumor in my past August echography (yes…it was there!)…….I am alive and hoping to be well, and convinced that attitude helps enormously…but also can lead you to big mistakes.

I was lucky…but not very wise for ignoring clear danger signals and deciding not to complete the proper medical procedures, probably a very extended male error, but I feel lucky also for survive the human error of not identifying properly the tumor in the first echografic exam 8 months ago. I’ll do nothing about it….except rejoice to be alive and with some time ahead to complete my dreams.