Making a difference in the fight against bladder cancer by lacing up your shoes

This weekend you can make a difference in the fight against bladder cancer by participating in a walk to build awareness.

“It is a cancer that very few people know about,” said Dr. Alexandre Zlotta, Director of Uro-Oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital.

“It is the fourth most common cancer in men, and it is the most expensive cancer to treat per patient.”

Stephen Wilson is on the Board of Directors for Bladder Cancer Canada, a national charity organized to help patients and their support teams, increase awareness, and fund research.

He has a vested interest in the charity because three years ago, Wilson was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

“I had stage four bladder cancer,” said Wilson. “So a lot of the options that are available to some people to preserve the bladder were not available to me.”

“Not all patients are eligible for bladder preservation, but there have been truly amazing improvements in the last decade, very recently immunotherapy,” said Zlotta.

“We have started a dedicated clinic for bladder cancer where patients are offered different types of therapies, including ways that we could preserve the bladder with a combination of resection of the tumor, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It opens completely new avenues for the patients and has improved their options.”

Zlotta said he thinks they could have a major impact on the disease, but everyone needs to work together.

“We would not be able to fund research that he and other urologists use throughout Canada.”