Bob's Story
Bob has bladder cancer. He has a high-grade tumour that has started to invade the muscle layer of his bladder. He now requires a serious operation to remove it. Due to the nature of Bob's tumour, he will require regular check-ups for a number of years to come.
Sadly such a painful and invasive procedure may have been avoided if Bob had approached his GP earlier about his symptoms.
Bob is typical of many men his age who often disregard the early warning signs of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is a progressive disease when left undiagnosed and sufferers often don't report their symptoms until it's well advanced. Why?
- Bladder cancer symptoms are very similar to the common urinary tract infection.
- Symptoms are often considered too 'embarrassing' to complain about.
- Treatment usually requires invasive cystoscopy, the prospect of which has put many men and women off.