David Guttman’s Story

[Nightingale]

I was born and grew up in Montreal, and graduated from McGill University in Agricultural science in 1962.
I moved to Toronto and worked for large corporations both in Canada and internationally. In 1982 I started a marketing company – Starboard Marketing Services. I had wonderful clients; Ford, Rolex, Dell and GE. I sold the company in 2000 and became a financial advisor shortly thereafter.
I have two children and three grand kids from my first marriage. Marilyn and I have been together for over 35 years and married for 30. Her three children and three grandchildren make our family whole. We love getting together and had many gatherings at our cottage in Muskoka.  It was my place to heal. I swam, canoed, and kayaked. The cottage is now sold and we travel instead.
My journey with bladder cancer started in April 1995 when I presented with blood in my urine. It took until September of that same year until they finally diagnosed it as high grade CIS (Carcinoma In Situ). I was 54 years old. Over the next 10 years I had many TURBTs and BCG treatments. The BCG treatments failed and the bladder cancer progressed, invading the muscle wall of my bladder and prostate.

In September 2005 I had a radical cystectomy with an ileal conduit reconstruction. The urologist was hoping to do a neobladder diversion but he had a suspicion that he would not be able to do it. He confirmed this in the operating room when he discovered the cancer had spread into the urethra. The ileal conduit was my only option.

After the radical cystectomy, there was a bit of an issue.  I was not in a depression but would say more like a bit of a funk.  I felt emasculated. I didn’t know where to turn.  I went back to my doctor and asked to speak to a psychiatrist or psychologist. I actually got to speak to both, not for any length of time but enough to get me over the hump. I had three visits with the psychiatrist and two with the psychologist.

About five years after I had my RC I started having pains in my kidney area.  I didn’t know what it was.  I also had back aches and pains. I was so tired. I thought it might have been constipation but it turned out to be the prelude to the left ureter plugging up.

About seven years after my cystectomy, my left ureter got plugged up. It was identified after the operation that my ureter would kink and stop the flow of urine. One night this happened when I was in the United States. I was in excruciating pain and taken to the hospital by ambulance. They gave me morphine for the pain.  They found out that I also had an infection. The antibiotics reduced the infection and the flow started again.  I got back to Canada quickly.  Two days later the very same thing happened again and they did a nephrostomy.  Since then I have had a reverse nephrostomy where the tube goes through the stoma rather than my back. This enables me to have a better quality of life and to be able to swim.

I don’t have an issue with swimming as long as I stick to short swims in cool water. If I swim in very warm water or immerse myself in a hot tub, the adhesive will start to come apart.  When I do go in a hot tub, I only let the water come up to my thighs.

A couple of things I have learned to make life a bit easier; I always change my appliance in the shower.  I wash off the adhesive and use an adhesive remover. I make sure that the area is clean and I use a lady’s disposable shaver to remove any hair or adhesive that might be there. I change my pouch every five days but more often if I swim or I’m sweating from laying in the sun by the pool or working in the garden.

A second idea is that I use a plastic waste paper basket to put my night bag in. I have double protection.  Once in a while the bag may leak and the urine gets caught in the waste paper basket.

My life is pretty much back to normal. Travel takes organization and planning. I travel with a kit in the car.  I never go anywhere without it.  When I travel on the airplane, I always make sure that I have a complete kit in my hand luggage.  If I’m doing an extended period of sitting I wear suspenders instead of a belt because the belt may cut into my pouch.

I have done a number of trips to Europe.  I double or triple the number of pouches that I need for good reason because you are in an unfamiliar area and are doing a lot of walking around. When I am going overseas I speak to my doctor beforehand to make sure that I know about facilities that I could go to should I have issues.

Some things have changed in my life but the most important is that the love of family and friends has grown deeper and more meaningful. As a result of my cancer I have met some wonderful people both in the medical and non-medical field. I owe my life to modern medicine and the skill and devotion of my medical team.

I am glad that I have the option of speaking to other bladder cancer patients through Bladder Cancer Canada. It has helped me handle new issues as they arise.

I am committed to helping others dealing with the disease and to fund research so that my grandchildren won’t even have to face this disease.

[Author]

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