We need your assistance! Female BLC Awareness

Christine,

What wonderful outlook on life. Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story. I feel the same as you. I feel blessed to have survived for 15 years, and I want to enjoy each and everyday as much as possible. I, also, feel that I have a responsibility to help others, to try my best to make the public aware. We have a long, hard battle to accomplish this...but, we have come along way. The wheels are turning, the word is beginning to get out...we must do what is needed to make it to the finish line. We can write our congressmen, we can write to the editors of local newspapers, contact radio and television stations in our area. Maybe this little story will illustrate my philosophy on life.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign that said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!


Enjoy your week with a heart of gratitude...

Sylvia,

Patricia e-mailed me and suggested that I look you up on the site. Here's the info you requested:

Name: Christine Springfield

Age when diagnosed:38

General location (State/City): Houston, TX

Stage when diagnosed and number of years a survivor: T3/G3 - Squamous Cell/Transitional Cell Carcinomas, not sure if you are considered a "survivor" from the diagnosis date (12/22/06) or the date they got it all out of you (4/27/07), so I will let you figure that out!

Short statement about your experience: What a wild experience it was! I have to say, I was in shock for about the first 3 months and I'm not sure I totally grasped what was going on. I put myself in the hands of the best medical team possible at MD Anderson and just rolled with the punches. I took it all one day at a time and did my very best not to let the chemo and surgeries stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Between the 2nd and 3rd rounds of chemo, I spent a week riding my horse into Houston on the annual Houston Trail Ride for the Rodeo. Recovering from the surgery that installed the Studer Pouch was a bit more difficult, but I was recovered before too long. I did become hypercontinent post-surgery, but that has not created any problems. You just learn to adapt. I still ride my horses, go SCUBA diving, fish, hunt, and do absolutely everything I did before bladder cancer. I wrote a blog during the experience that's available at www.caringbridge.org, under "christinespringfield".

How you found ABLCS and what it has meant to you: I found ABLCS after I was diagnosed and have participated ever since, sometimes sporadically, as the fake bladder and bladder cancer really isn't something I spend every day mulling about. It has provided me with a group of friends that I can use to answer questions I run into, as well as giving me a way to help others dealing with cancer. Just because somebody says "cancer" does not mean that life is over! Things may end up a little different than you expected, but heck, most of life seems to work out that way.

Anyhow, you have my permission to use anything here, anything I have written on the site, and anything in my blog to assist in your awareness campaign. I will be happy to help in any way possible, too. Just let me know what I can do to help.

Reading the Vogue article on Patti Hansen was incredible! That was a huge step in getting the word out to the rest of the world that we are not all old men! I have made no secret about this to anyone know and encourage all their questions, no matter how personal in nature or how odd they may sound. I am not shy and would love the opportunity to help raise awareness.

Thanks!
Christine Springfield

Thank you Melodie.

Sylvia,

Melodie
Age 57
Mt. Vernon, WA (70 miles north of Seattle)
PT2b, NO w/CIS urothelial cell carcinoma
3 Yr. survivor as of 7/25/10 (prefer to be called warrior)

Once I realized something was wrong, it took 4 months for the doctors to diagnose me correctly. I thought I would have a TURB and it would be over...was terrified when the doctor came in after the procedure to tell me I needed 3-4 months of chemo and surgery to have my bladder removed.

In an effort to educate myself, I went to the Internet and located the ABLCS forum which at the time was known as the "Web Cafe" forum. Aside from my faith, the forum became my primary source of information and I encountered individiuals who had "been there, done that" who offered me imformation, emotional support, comfort and inspiration. I was so very impressed and felt so blessed that following my own recovery, I developed my own website to help others with bladder cancer, hoping to share my own personal experience, support and hope. (link below my name)

And of course you have my permission to use this information to help others.

Susan,

Thank you so much for your post. You are very welcome here. I think you will find a lot of kindred spirits. May I ask how old you were when you were first diagnosed? I am giving a presentation on bladder cancer at a hospital to a group of nursing students, and I want to use some examples of bladder cancer and females. I will also be creating a small info flyer to give to them, and to place in some offices.

Sylvia

Sylvia,
I am new to ABLCS as I found it about 1/2 hour ago, but I already know that I am going to love it.
I was diagnosed in 2001 with stage 4 BC and had a radical cystectomy at that time. I have an Ileal Conduit and wear a urostomy pouch. I chose this type of collection because I wanted total control over the situation. It is a choice I have never regretted. I have read seen and heard many stories over the years from and of BC survivors with infections, leaks and other problems. I have never had type of problem.
The only problem I do have seems to be with scar tissue and adhesions. This seems to have become a major problem over the last year and I am searching ABLCS to see what I can find out from others.
I wish you luch with gathering your information. You do have permission to use my information.

Susan