Bladder Cancer Survivor
Allen Beckett was diagnosed with Stage II bladder cancer in 2014
"Once my test results returned, my doctor referred me to a urologist. The urologist ordered a CT scan, and it was then the urologist discovered my bladder cancer. That news was shocking for me. It was an out-of-body experience, almost as if I was standing outside myself trying to comprehend what was being said. Anger, denial, acceptance, and it takes you a while to work through it, but you work through it. My urologist was very big on preserving my bladder. He performed a transurethral resection of a bladder tumor, a TURBT, then referred me to an oncologist. I had six sessions of chemotherapy, which I tolerated pretty well.
“Volunteer work was always something I liked to do, and when I received an email from BCAN about their Survivor to Survivor program, I immediately signed up. I did the online training, and I have probably spoken to about seven or eight men. Bladder cancer research has increased my life span. New immunotherapy drugs have become available since I was diagnosed in 2014. If my cancer returns again, there will probably be better drugs to cure me.”
