“My physical world has shrunk to my own four walls, small garden and immediate neighbourhood.”
Girl on a wall seen in Berlin – photo by Howlzap Cologne

March 2020 is ending, and the Corona virus has changed all our lives.

What does this mean for cancer and bladder cancer patients?

Are we more at risk having treatment or not having treatment?

What can we do to minimize risk factors and strengthen our immune systems?

Since recovering from my last chemo treatment, I’ve been working at home, attending yoga at home and connecting virtually. When it’s “fair-bladder-weather” I venture out around the block, keeping my distance to others. My physical world has shrunk to my own four walls, small garden and immediate neighbourhood.

As my next treatment date approaches, I ask; is the risk of having treatment higher than not having it?

My gut feeling is that the risk from having treatment is low, we travel to the surgery (not hospital) by car, all our appointments are early – when things are still quiet, the waiting area is secluded from others and the treatment takes not 10 minutes. However, my urologist has many appointments per day, I see from the website that they’ve increased screening, reduced appointments to current treatments and severe cases. I’ll monitor the situation and call beforehand.

BCAN’s (Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network) site has some useful pointers for patients to consider at this time. We all have to weigh things up.

Generally, as my yoga teachers and my inner doctor say the best we can do is:

Stay well everyone!