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