Lately the news for immunotherapy clinical trials has been very good. Although an actual timeline for FDA approval is still unknown, a similar drug to the one I am on is hoping for a review as soon as this October! Great news for the bladder cancer community which has not seen a new drug therapy in 30 years.
And since May is Bladder Cancer Awareness month, here are some interesting facts:
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the U.S.
Each year, about 73,000 people, mostly men, are diagnosed with bladder cancer. (55,000 men compared to 18,000 women). The average age at diagnosis is 73.
About 16,000 people die from bladder cancer each year.
The overall cure rate of bladder cancer is 77 percent, but this drops to 34 percent for patients in which the disease has spread outside the bladder, and to five percent for those where it has spread to distant organs, like the liver.
It isn’t known what causes bladder cancer, but major risk factors include smoking, chemical exposure and parasitic infection.
The most common symptom is blood in the urine, frequent urinary tract infections, and pain upon urinating.
Bladder cancer has been linked to U.S. Veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Veterans diagnosed with bladder cancer should qualify for compensation and special access to medical care. You do not need to prove that Agent Orange caused your cancer.
