May is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, and May 7th is Bladder Cancer Awareness Day. Both gives us another meaningful reason to speak up, share resources, and remind people that bladder cancer deserves more attention, more research, more compassion, and a whole lot less medical dismissal. Every May, the bladder cancer community comes together to raise awareness about symptoms, early detection, patient support, and survivorship.
For me, this is not just another awareness month on the calendar. I have been living with bladder cancer since 2018. It has changed my body, my plans, my finances, my energy, my advocacy, and honestly, my entire perspective on what “strength and resilience” really means.
And spoiler alert: strength does not always look like a perfect victory lap. Sometimes strength looks like showing up for another scope. Another surgery. Another scan. Another treatment. Another day when you are tired, scared, irritated, hopeful, sarcastic, and still somehow putting one foot in front of the other.
Why Bladder Cancer Awareness Matters
Bladder cancer is often overlooked, misunderstood, or mistaken for something else. One of the most important warning signs is blood in the urine, which should never be ignored. Too many patients, especially women, are told it is probably a UTI, hormones, stress, or something minor. Sometimes it is minor. Sometimes it is not. That is why getting checked matters.
My advocacy is especially close to my heart because bladder cancer is commonly associated with older men, but women get bladder cancer too. Younger women get bladder cancer too. And when symptoms are brushed off, delayed diagnosis can happen. My goal through Cancer Support Studio and Bless Your Vibes is to help people feel less alone, more informed, and more prepared to advocate for themselves.
Ways to Support Bladder Cancer Awareness This May
This year, I created and gathered several ways to celebrate Bladder Cancer Awareness Day and Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, whether you are a bladder cancer warrior, survivor, caregiver, medical provider, friend, family member, or someone who wants to support the cancer community.
Shop the New Merch
The new Bless Your Vibes Cancer Support Collection includes bladder cancer awareness designs created to honor warriors, survivors, caregivers, and supporters. The collection features awareness designs that can be placed on multiple products like shirts, hoodies, mugs, bags, stickers, notebooks, and more.
Shop the full Cancer Support Collection here:
https://blessyourvibes.threadless.com/collections/cancer-support-collection
Every purchase helps support the mission of Cancer Support Studio and helps keep this work growing.
Request a Resilience Bell
Not every cancer journey ends with one big victory bell moment. Some of us live in the middle of the journey, between appointments, scopes, scans, treatments, surgeries, recurrences, and hope.
Resilience Bells are for the smaller wins that are not small at all. Making it through surgery. Finishing a treatment. Getting through a hard day. Receiving encouraging scan results. Showing up again when you are exhausted. Choosing hope when cancer is being a complete jerk.
Learn more about Resilience Bells:
https://cancersupportstudio.com/bells/
Use the Cancer Care Book to Stay Organized
Cancer comes with paperwork, appointments, medications, symptoms, questions, side effects, bills, emotions, and approximately 4,000 sticky notes if you are anything like me.
The Cancer Care Book was created to help patients and caregivers stay organized during diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. It gives you one place to track medical information, appointments, medications, questions, expenses, and the emotional side of the cancer journey.
Get the Cancer Care Book here:
https://amzn.to/4trnbo3
Visit the Bladder Cancer Support Page
I created a Bladder Cancer page on Cancer Support Studio to help people better understand the basics of bladder cancer, including symptoms, stages, grades, treatment language, and support options.
Visit the Bladder Cancer page here:
https://cancersupportstudio.com/bladder-cancer/
Explore Bladder Cancer Specific Resources
Cancer Support Studio includes a growing resource directory for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. The bladder cancer section includes education, advocacy, treatment information, peer support, and community resources.
Start with the full Cancer Support Resources page:
https://cancersupportstudio.com/resources/
A Personal Note From Chelle
If you are living with bladder cancer, I see you.
If you are waiting on results, I see you.
If you are tired of cystoscopies, scans, surgeries, treatments, bills, and trying to explain this cancer to people who barely know what a bladder does, I really see you.
Since 2018, bladder cancer has been part of my life, but it is not the whole story. My story also includes advocacy, creativity, humor, resilience, travel dreams, music, community, and a deep desire to help other cancer warriors feel less alone.
This May, wear the colors. Share the warning signs. Send someone a resource. Request a bell. Buy a shirt. Ask the uncomfortable health question. Encourage someone to see a urologist. Remind a warrior that every win counts.
Bladder cancer awareness is not just about one day or one month. It is about helping someone get diagnosed sooner, feel supported longer, and know they are not walking this road alone.
Bless your vibes,
Chelle