– I will never forget 20 May 2016. Then I discovered blood in my urine. A common sign of cancer in the bladder, says the 58-year-old from Namsos. Bladder cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer among men. If he had taken the signals seriously and gone to the doctor earlier, he would have stopped a lot of pain and suffering. Fast and good treatment Every year, around 1,850 Norwegians are diagnosed with bladder cancer, and 16,500 are currently living with the disease. Valseth received quick and good treatment when the cancer was first discovered. – It went away both at my GP in Namsos and at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim, he says of the dramatic months six years ago. He and his wife planned a trip to London to see Åge Aleksandersen and Sambandet play in the Royal Albert Hall. But he could just forget that trip. – It was an experience I was really looking forward to, but I was too ill to travel. I also didn’t get to experience the joy of seeing my first grandchild as a newborn in the hospital. It was a difficult time. The Namsos man was very ill while undergoing treatment for bladder cancer in 2016. Photo: Privat – Just wanted to die The chemotherapy treatment Geir Morten Valseth received in Trondheim was hard on his body. He tells of a memory of him lying curled up on the floor at home in his own living room. – I was in so much pain that I just wanted to die. It was absolutely terrible, he says. The 58-year-old says he was as far down as it is possible to get. He remembers a telephone conversation with the doctor in Trondheim particularly well. It arrived on a Tuesday while he was at the cabin. – I was standing by the water when she told me how serious the situation was. On the opposite hill on the way up to the cabin again, I decided to take up the fight. I had so much in my life to fight for, says Geir Morten six years later. Bladder cancer Urinary tract cancer or bladder cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer among men in Norway. Around 1,850 people are injured annually. Three out of four victims are men, and smokers are particularly vulnerable. Blood in the urine is the most common sign of bladder cancer. Frequent urge to urinate and possibly slight pain or burning when urinating. Pressure or light pain above or behind the pubic bone. Although these symptoms are not necessarily related to bladder cancer, it is important to see a doctor for an assessment. Source: Bladder Cancer Norway One dies every day Ranveig Røtterud in the association Bladder Cancer Norway says that on average one person dies from this type of cancer every single day in Norway. – It is a serious illness that is not talked about much, unfortunately. It is important that more people become aware of the symptoms, she says. That is why the European urology organization EAU is starting a major international campaign against bladder cancer this autumn. – Visible blood in the urine is found one or more times in approximately 85 per cent of bladder cancer patients. It is both an important and simple way to track possible bladder cancer, she says. Ranveig Røtterud in Bladder Cancer Norway says it is important to take cancer symptoms seriously as early as possible. Photo: private Geir Morten Valseth hopes the big campaign will get many people to check themselves for cancer. Much earlier than he himself did. – I waited far too long. I did notice some discomfort when I had to pee, but it came and went. I have subsequently realized that it is not so common among bladder cancer patients. Only when I discovered blood in the urine did I go to the doctor, he says. Took 18 months to recover. Today he is cancer-free, but it took a year and a half before he recovered enough to be able to start working again. He had to have his bladder removed, and instead received a replacement bladder made from a piece of his intestine. – I am so happy that I am alive, have six grandchildren and can go to work every single day. But I have to live with the consequences of bladder cancer every day for the rest of my life. – Because I can’t pee normally. I have to use a catheter during the day, and a uridom with a night bag when I go to sleep. I also have to flush my bladder, and unfortunately experience urine leaks from time to time. But I’m alive, says the 58-year-old. Now he asks others who know something is wrong not to wait for almost a year, as he himself did. – Then maybe I would have stopped all the problems I still struggle with. I feel like an idiot for not going to the doctor. But if I can be the last idiot, it’s worth it, concludes Valseth.
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Bladder cancer takes the life of a Norwegian every day – Geir Morten Valseth waited a year to go to the doctor – news Trøndelag
