Bladder Cancer: A Patient-Friendly Guide to Understanding Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options

Bladder Cancer: A Patient-Friendly Guide to Understanding Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options resulted from a unique collaboration between doctors and patients. It started when David Pulver was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2007 and got a second opinion from Mark Schoenberg, MD, an internationally acknowledged authority on bladder cancer. They formed a partnership—not only to treat David's bladder cancer but also to write a patient-friendly book for other patients diagnosed with this disease. The book combines expert medical information with a clear writing style that organizes and presents the information in the most patient-friendly way.

When you are diagnosed with bladder cancer or have a recurrence of your disease, many questions start running through your mind. What does my diagnosis mean? What are my treatment options? How serious is my disease? Can I be cured?

To grapple with these questions, you need to understand your diagnosis and learn about your treatment options— so you can get the best possible outcomes for your disease. The mission of this book is to educate you about bladder cancer so you can understand your diagnosis and make informed decisions regarding your treatment and care. The book will help you be a proactive patient, have better conversations with your doctor, and become your own advocate in fighting your disease.

What You Will Learn from This Book

This book is organized into 14 chapters and 4 appendixes.

You should first read Chapters 1–5, which provide information all patients with bladder cancer need to know. Topics include how to become a proactive patient, the anatomy and functions of the urinary system, how bladder cancer is diagnosed, and what you need to know to understand your diagnosis.

The next step is to read the specific chapter or chapters that discuss the treatment options for your specific diagnosis. Chapters 6–13 include detailed information about the treatment options for the different types and stages of bladder cancer.

Chapter 14 discusses the challenges bladder cancer survivors face as they transition from active treatment to follow-up care. In addition, there are 4 appendixes, including a glossary of bladder cancer terms and a list of  bladder cancer resources for patients and their families.

This book addresses the questions, concerns, and challenges that confront people diagnosed with bladder cancer and those who love and support them. 

David Pulver is a ten-year survivor of a serious form of bladder cancer. He has served on the Board of Directors of BCAN (Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, bcan.org) since 2008. BCAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness of bladder cancer, advancing research directed toward bladder cancer, and educating and supporting bladder cancer patients and their families. David is President of Cornerstone Capital, Inc., a private investment company. Prior to starting Cornerstone Capital, he co-founded and was Chairman and Co-CEO of The Children's Place, a leading retailer of children's clothing. David serves on the Board of Directors of Carter's, a leading manufacturer and retailer of infants and young children's apparel. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Costco Wholesale and on the Board of Directors of the Public Health Research Institute, a leading nonprofit medical research organization specializing in infectious diseases. David serves on the Board of Trustees of Colby College, located in Waterville, Maine. He earned his BA from Colby College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. David lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife Carol.

Mark Schoenberg, MD, is University Professor & Chairman of the Department of Urology at the Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Dr. Schoenberg obtained his MD degree from the University of Texas (Houston) and his training in Surgery and Urology at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). Under the auspices of the American Cancer Society, Dr. Schoenberg served as a fellow in urologic oncology at The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute of The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore). He subsequently joined the Hopkins faculty and rose to the rank of Professor and Director of Urologic Oncology. He is an internationally acknowledged authority on the management of urothelial cancer and is author or coauthor of over 170 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. He has served on the editorial staffs of the peer-reviewed journals Urologic Oncology, The Journal of Urology, and Urology. He is the author of The Guide to Living with Bladder Cancer (2000). He is an editor of the Textbook of Bladder Cancer (2006), a past contributor of Campbell's Urology (2008), an editor of Bladder Cancer: Diagnosis and Clinical Management (2015), and an editor of Management of Urologic Cancer: Focal Therapy and Tissue Preservation (2017).

Fran Pulver has worked as a health and medical writer since 1991. She has written articles for Harvard Medical School's Harvard Heart Letter and Better Health for Life and contributed to A Guide to Alzheimer's Disease, published by Harvard Health Publications. She is the author of the Guide to Getting the Best Cancer Treatment and the Guide to Getting the Best Healthcare, published by PinnacleCare. Fran has over 25 years of experience writing health and medical content for health care providers, health publications, and medical websites. She writes consumer-friendly content that helps patients become actively involved in decisions regarding their health care. In addition to medical writing, she has copyedited or proofread more than 300 academic books and journals for university presses and scientific publishers. Fran is a thirteen-year cancer survivor and drew from her personal experience in writing this book. A resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, she currently works as a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader.