Addressing a need for support

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This article was published 25/10/2017 (2962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Terrol Rogers discovered she had bladder cancer six years ago.

“I have what’s called a non-muscle invasive bladder cancer,” explained Rogers, a 66-year-old East Kildonan resident who works at Concordia Village. “It’s one of the easiest to treat, but it keeps coming back.”

Over the past six years, Rogers, who grew up in St. Vital and worked for many years in the dental community, has undergone numerous cystoscopies and BCG and Interferon treatments, and returns every three months to visit her doctor to remove any new spots that may have appeared.

“Going through this I’ve gotten to know doctors well, I’ve done the cancer walks,” Rogers said. She got to wondering if there was a support group for those with bladder cancer, and found there wasn’t one in Winnipeg. After discussing the idea with her doctor, Dr. Drachenberg, she decided to start one.

On the third Tuesday of each month, Rogers and Janine Ballingall Scotten, a registered nurse whose husband is bladder cancer survivor (who underwent several surgeries, a year of radiation and chemotherapy) will be hosting a bladder cancer support group at Concordia Village (1125 Molson St.) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

“With bladder cancer, the thing is there is so little awareness,” Rogers said. “I wanted to bring it to the forefront. We have to get the word out.”

“The group is for people living with bladder cancer, recovering from bladder cancer, living with a friend or partner with bladder cancer, etc.,” Scotten wrote in an email. “I think our shared experiences will be appreciated by attendees.”

“Sometimes when I sit in day surgery next to someone else going in for the first time, I’ve held people’s hand and let them know it will be OK,” Rogers said. “There’s  a need for support.”

According to Bladder Cancer Canada, a national charity dedicated to helping patients with bladder cancer, the disease is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, and the most costly to treat. Blood in urine is the most common symptom, while smoking is the most common risk factor.

“Who knew smoking could cause bladder cancer?” said Rogers, a former smoker herself.

The majority of patients diagnosed with the disease, like Rogers, are diagnosed with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, which can be treated, but commonly reoccurs. Alternately, muscle invasive bladder cancer affects one in five people diagnosed with the disease, which is commonly treated by chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or a combination of all three. The mortality rate for muscle invasive bladder cancer is 40 per cent in the first five years.

“It’s important to see you doctor if you suspect anything,” Rogers said.

“I’m a very up kind of person, but after one of those cystoscopies, I feel sorry for myself for a day,” she admitted. “But I let myself be down for a day, wake up the next day and ‘get on with it’ as my mother-in-law always said! It would be nice to connect with those that understand that.”
Rogers added she hopes the support group will not only help spread the word about the disease, but also bring some comfort to the afflicted.

“I don’t want bladder cancer to define me,” Rogers said. “But I want people to know what to look for, and to know they’re not alone.”

The next support meeting will be held at Concordia Village’s building one multi-purpose room on Nov. 21. For more information on Winnipeg’s bladder cancer support group, email winnipegsupport@bladdercancercanada.org

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