In this month’s magazine, former ’70′s model Patti Hansen opens up about her recent struggles with bladder cancer.
The 54-yr.-old has been Rolling Stones' Keith Richards' wife for that
past 27 years. In August 2007, after finishing the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour, Hansen who had been spotting for months, urinated blood. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with
bladder cancer. This was actually Hanson’s second brush with cancer, having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, after a routine mammogram found a small tumor. She was treated with a lumpectomy.
This time, Patti had to undergo 3 months of chemotherapy, followed by surgery to remove the cancer. During this procedure, her bladder was removed, along with her appendix and a full hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix). A new bladder, called a “neobladder” was created from a piece of small intestine. Two years later, Hansen is cancer-free and has become a handbag designer for Hung On U.
The main reason Hanson says she gave the Vogue interview was to help remove the stigma of bladder cancer in women: “It’s not something people talk about,” she says. “When I found out that I had it, I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is an old man’s disease.' You go to Sloan-Kettering and you’re sitting there with all these men with prostate problems. And all the information I was getting out of Sloan was for men. They have really got to move this forward for women, because now they are seeing more and more women with bladder cancer. I’ve already met two other women in this area with it.”
For the basics about bladder cancer, see our story about .
According to the National Cancer Institute: It is estimated that 70,530 men and women (52,760 men and 17,770 women) will be diagnosed with and 14,680 men and women will die of cancer of the urinary bladder in 2010. The majority of those diagnosed are over 55, with a median age of 73. Men are four times more likely to get bladder cancer than women.
Although bladder cancer is more common in men, studies have shown that women are more likely to have more advanced tumors and have a worse prognosis than men at almost every stage of the disease. According to a report published by the National Cancer Institute, the survival rate for women with bladder cancer lags behind that of men at all stages of the disease. African-American women, particularly have poor outcomes. They present with the highest proportion of advanced and aggressive tumors when compared with African-American men and Caucasian men and women. In addition, the number of women diagnosed with bladder cancer has been increasing.
An editorial in the January 1, 2009 issue of the journal Cancer reported that the difference in outcomes may be due to a delay in diagnosis in women. Mark H. Katz, MD, and Gary D. Steinberg, MD, both from the University of Chicago Medical Center, write “It is our impression that, all too often, bladder cancer is not even in the differential diagnosis when women present to primary care physicians complaining of hematuria or a change in voiding symptoms.” Initial symptoms are more likely to be interpreted in women as due to bladder infections or gynecologic issues, and women may be treated for bladder infections, or seen by a gynecologist before the proper testing is done to rule out bladder cancer. In addition, many women themselves ignore or misinterpret the most basic symptom of blood in the urine, associating it with menstruation or menopause, and delay reporting this symptom to their doctors.
Bladder cancer may cause these common symptoms:
* Hematuria -- either bright red or rusty brown
* Urgency
* Polyuria or urinary frequency
* Feeling the need to empty the bladder without results
* Needing to strain (bear down) when emptying the bladder
* Dysuria
Bladder cancer symptoms may be identical to those of a bladder infection and the two problems may occur together. If symptoms do not disappear after treatment with antibiotics, further evaluation should be performed to determine whether bladder cancer is present.
What is a “Neobladder”? (Source: United Ostomy Association
A
neobladder is made from loops of the intestine. First, the surgeon
removes a section of intestine. He then reconnects the bowel so there
are no changes in bowel function. The piece of intestine that was
removed is cut open to create a “flat piece” instead of a hollow tube.
The flat piece of intestine is sewn together to form a pouch. The
ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder) are
connected to one end of this pouch and the other end of the pouch is
connected to the urethra. Urine will drain from the kidneys through the
ureters and into the new “bladder.” The new bladder will store the urine
and the individual will void through normal channels.
Procedure
The bladder is removed. A urinary reservoir is made out of bowel and is
attached to the urethra, so the patient can void normally. Spontaneous
voiding is accomplished by straining.
Advantages:
• Urinary continence is possible
• Normal urination route
• No external collection pouch
Disadvantages:
• Possible nocturnal leakage
• Possible need of clean intermittent self catheterization
• The long-term results are not known
• Chance of pouchitis (inflammation of the reservoir)
For more information, here to go to our Resounding Health Casebook on Bladder Cancer