Stewart Greenfield survived stage IV bladder cancer | cisplatin | gemcidibine | nivolumab | immunotherapy

DESCRIPTION

For Stewart Greenfield, the third time was the charm.  After checking pictures of his bladder in 2016, two doctors told him he didn’t have long to live; a third doctor told him he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer, but insisted he needed to be treated.  The cancer had burned a hole in his bladder and attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck.  Treatment included a chemotherapy cocktail of cisplatin and gemcidibine, plus qualifying for an immunotherapy, nivolumab.  It was a smashing success.  Stewart says his urinary function is normal and he is able to resume his active lifestyle, which includes cycling and scuba diving.

A semi-retired kitchen designer, Stewart Greenfield of Scottsdale, Arizona, thought he was in good health when he went for his annual physical in 2016.  He was an active cyclist and scuba diver.  However, his doctor said his blood work was “inconclusive.”  After a second test was labeled inconclusive, the doctor prescribed antibiotics and called for a third blood test a week later.  The doctor got a similar result and sent Stewart to a urological surgeon.

The surgeon called for Stewart to undergo some scans and upon viewing them, gave Stewart some very bad news.  The surgeon did not mention the word ‘cancer,’ but said Stewart should get his affairs in order.

Stewart went to a second urologist who viewed pictures of Stewart’s bladder, again did not mention the word cancer, but said the condition of the bladder was so advanced, it was too late to treat it.  He had a hole in his bladder and the cancer had attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck.

Stewart had an appointment with a third surgeon.  She said he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer.  As he attempted to leave, the doctor blocked his path and insisted on treating his diagnosis.  At first he resisted, thinking he had received a death sentence, but he agreed to be treated. 

Stewart was put on a chemotherapy regimen with cisplatin.  The regimen was stepped up with the addition of gemcidibine.  As the regimen had been successful, he qualified for a new immunotherapy, novolumab.

The treatment was a success.  Stewart has normal urinary function and again takes part in cycling and scuba diving.

By way of advice, he urges those diagnosed with bladder cancer to stay positive, never lose hope and “fight the fight.”

Additional Resource:

Support Group:

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network   https://www.bcan.org

TRANSCRIPT

Bruce Morton: This is the Cancer Interviews podcast.  I’m your host, Bruce Morton.  We are glad our guest is here to join us, as he has overcome quite a bit.  Stewart Greenfield of Scottsdale, Arizona survived Stage IV bladder cancer, which resulted in a hole in his bladder and attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck.  Stewart has a powerful story to share, and now is the time to hear it.  Stewart, welcome to Cancer Interviews.

Stewart Greenfield: Thank you for having me.

BM: Stewart, we want to start the way we always do, and that’s to learn about your life away from cancer.  If you would, tell us a bit about where you are from, what you have done for work, and what you like to do for fun.

SG: Originally I am from Chicago, Illinois, but I have been in Arizona about twenty years.  I am by trade a kitchen designer and build custom furniture.  That’s what I did for my life.  I really loved it.  It was very, very satisfying to be able to build stuff and look back at it and say I built this.  Now I am enjoying semi-retirement in Arizona.  I also do a lot of scuba diving as much as I possibly can.  I will go all over the world, any time, any day.

BM: My cancer journey began with the blood work that accompanied my annual physical.  It sounds like that was the same for you, yes?

SG: Exactly.  I went in for my annual physical, felt great.  I golfed the previous day, I rode my bike before my physical and I had no reason to think I was sick in any way, shape or form.  I did a urine test with my annual physical.  The doctor called me the next day.  He wanted me to re-do the urine test because it came back ‘inconclusive.’  I remember thinking to myself, I don’t even know what that means.  I went the next day, I took another urine test and again it came back inconclusive.  The doctor said he would put me on some antibiotics, and that I probably had an infection in my prostate.  He wanted me to take them and try the urine test again. I took a week’s worth of the antibiotics, we re-did the test and it still came back inconclusive.  At that point, he told me he had made an appointment with another doctor for me and I went t see him.  He was a urological surgeon.  I still wasn’t expecting anything bad.  The first day we did a bunch of scans, then we did a scope.  I didn’t know it, but the surgeon could see what my bladder looks like.  When we got done with it, he said he had to develop the photos, that he would be back in five minutes.  He came back in, knowing that I love to go scuba diving, knowing that I have been all over the world.  He pulls his chair up within about three feet of me, face to face.  He looked me in the eye and said, quote, “If there is any place in the world that you really, really want to go to, go now.”  I told him I had a scuba trip planned in about three months, and he said, “No.  Go now.”  How was I supposed to take that?  I didn’t expect any bad news, I was by myself.  If I had any inclination as to what was going on in my body, I would have had somebody else with me because two sets of ears are better than one.  I got in my car after leaving.  He told me he had made an appointment with another oncologist for the following day and he wanted me to go there.  That was the end of our appointment.  I called my sister, told he what was going on.  She called back a few hours later.  She had a friend who had been diagnosed with bladder cancer at a very prestigious hospital.  Somehow she was able to get an appointment fir me for the very next morning, first thing.  We had the records sent over from the previous doctor.  This doctor seeing me was shaking his head from side to side.  We sat down and to me, this was the shortest doctor appointment on record.  He picked his head up, looked at me, and said it was too late, there was nothing he could do to treat me and that I should go home and get my affairs in order.  At that point, I was wondering what is going on.  I still had not heard the word cancer.  This was the second doctor I had gone to, but had not heard the word cancer.  We walked out of there.  Obviously, I had an idea of what was going on.  I said I still want to see the oncologist that afternoon, but my sister said there was no reason to after what the first two doctors had said.  Any more appointments, she said, would just be a waste of time.  I said I was still going to go, and let’s hear what she has to say.  I saw this oncologist and this was the first time I had heard the word cancer.  She said I was in late Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer.  I was so ignorant about cancer that I didn’t know what metastatic meant, so I asked her.  She said my cancer had spread to other parts of my body.  I just sat there, stunned.  She explained to me to me that things are really bad.  She agreed with the first two oncologists as far as what the diagnosis was, but she wanted to treat me.  I started getting up to leave the room and headed for the door.  She asked me where I was going and I said I was going scuba diving.  I said if I had very little time left, I wanted to dive.  I did not want to sit in Chicago’s traffic while I am dying, I want t be in the ocean.  She stood up, she blocked me from leaving the room.  She said I couldn’t leave that we have to try to treat this.  She refused to move, she refused to let me leave.  At some point, I gave in.  That was the end of that appointment.  It was really tough.  This had been a long two days.  However, I got very lucky.  I had a port inserted.  I had seven tumors in my bladder and the next thing I know, I am going on chemo.  It wasn’t fun, nobody likes chemo.  I was three weeks on, one week off.  The first week was straight cisplatin.  That was a tough one to take.  The second week was a cocktail of cisplatin and gemcidibine.  That was a little easier.  My body tolerated the chemo, although I thought I would say for me it was better than most people go through.  I just get a little nauseous here and there, but all in all, I carried it pretty well, I was pretty happy about it, especially when I saw in the infusion room the effects it had on others.  Meanwhile, I was just waiting to die because that was what everybody told me what could happen, but I am not done, I am still here.  It took me quite a while before I could leave the house.  I was so afraid of something happening.  I didn’t know what to expect.  I didn’t know what the signs of imminent danger were because I had never experienced any.  You’re waiting for the unknown.  All I know is, every doctor told me I didn’t have a chance.  I was just waiting to die.  I did take a couple of trips after the first round of chemo.  During that first round of chemo, the doctor had informed me that there was a brand new drug on the market and they had just started using it and it was showing great results, and that if I could have survived the chemo, I would be eligible for the drug called Novolumab.  When she told me that, I just laughed, but I decided I would do what my doctor told me to do.  We kept going, and I am still living.  Honestly, Bruce, for the first four and a half to five years, I just sat and waited to die, and those were the loneliest days of my life.  However, as I speak, I am a nine-year cancer survivor, with eight years on immunotherapy.  I was informed I am the longest-surviving Novolumab patient with my type of cancer, and that’s a nice thing to be able to say. 

BM: We’re confident you’ll be able to learn some tips and tools to help you through your cancer journey, but first we’d like to invite you to please give us a ‘like,’ leave a comment or review below and share this story with your friends.  Kindly click on the Subscribe button below and click on the bell icon, so you’ll be notified the next time we post an interview.  We also want to remind you we do not distribute medical advice.  If you seek medical advice, please contact a licensed healthcare professional.

Stewart, you had mentioned your chemotherapy regimen.  Looking back, what was the toughest part of it?

SG: Accepting that I had chemo.  That was the first one.  Like I said, I did not feel sick.  I knew something was wrong.  There is something going on in my body.  I was thinking how can I be so sick when I feel this good?  I guess you have to learn how to live with it, and just believe in yourself, believe you’re going to fight it.  I made up my mind that I was not going to give up, that I was going to keep fighting, whatever that meant. I was going to laugh at cancer until I knocked it over.  I try to tell people you never give up because I did give up for a long time, and I am still here.  I now realize I gave up a lot of precious time waiting to die.  That is not a way to go through life, or even the closing of your life.  I get up in the morning, I stand up straight, I tell myself it is going to be a good day, and I say, “Cancer, you got no chance.” 

BM: That said, physically, how close are you to 100 percent?

SG: Honestly, I am 100 percent.  You would never know that I am sick.  I only share news of my diagnosis with people I think that I can help.  The human brain is a very powerful thing.  I truly believe that is you fill yourself with nothing but positive thoughts, good things are going to come your way.

BM: Now, I wan to talk about a source of support that I suspect has really helped you along your journey and that’s the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, which you must found out about at some point.  If you would, Stewart, tell us about how it has helped you and what it can do for others.

SG: Well, BCAN is such a wonderful organization.  They’re dedicated to helping bladder cancer patients.  What I do and what other people do, we work as advocates.  So, I will get a call from BCAN and that they will tell me there is a new patient who just got diagnosed with a type of cancer very similar to mine, and the patient would like to speak to someone so they can an idea of what to expect.  It is very fulfilling.  They are a very wonderful organization.  They have brought a type of cancer that is always kept under the radar, maybe because it is not as glamorous as other types of cancer, it is almost like a taboo subject.  There is nothing taboo about it.  Everybody urinates, and the bladder is where it stored.  I was very lucky.  I kept my bladder.  I am at 200 percent, Bruce.  I am 200 percent.

BM: So, would you say that for you, urinating is normal?

SG: Normal as can be.  You would never know I am sick in a million years by looking at me, by looking at my activities, even how I urinate.  It baffles my doctors.

BM: And that is a good kind of baffling.  Now, I want t talk about the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network in just one more way.  It does have a website.  If one wants to access it, what is its address?

SG: It is https://www.bcan.org.  Pronounced ‘beacon,’ like a beacon of hope.  In 2025, it is celebrating its twentieth anniversary.  They are wonderful people.  They are dedicated to the bladder cancer patients and they will do whatever it takes to help that person.  I would recommend anybody with bladder cancer to get hold of them. 

BM: Stewart, it is about time for us to wrap up, and it is our custom to conclude with the same question for our guests.  Specifically, if you encountered someone who had just been diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer or any type of bladder cancer, that may have a lot of questions, more questions than answers.  You might have a lot of information you want to share with this individual, but if there is one point you would want to make that you hope the other person would remember, what would that be?

SG: Fight the fight.  Don’t be afraid.  Fight the fight.  You have the strength.  Never give up.

BM: Succinctly put and sage advice, to be sure.  A powerful message, just like your story.  Stewart Greenfield, Scottsdale, Arizona, thank you very much for being with us on Cancer Interviews.  And thanks for sharing the information about BCAN, at https://www.bcan.org.

SG: Bruce, thank you so much for having me, and I am glad for the opportunity to spread my message.  I hope it helps others.  Don’t be afraid.  Fight the fight.

BM: And we want to remind you as we always do as we conclude, if you or a loved one are on a cancer journey, you are not alone.  There are individuals like Stewart Greenfield, there are organizations like BCAN, that are there to help.  So, until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Additional Resources:

Support Group:

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network  https://www.bcan.org

SHOW NOTES

TITLE: Stewart Greenfield, Stage IV Bladder Cancer Survivor – Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

For Stewart Greenfield, the third time was the charm.  After checking pictures of his bladder in 2016, two doctors told him he didn’t have long to live; a third doctor told him he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer, but insisted he needed to be treated.  The cancer had burned a hole in his bladder and attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck.  Treatment included a chemotherapy cocktail of cisplatin and gemcidibine, plus qualifying for an immunotherapy, nivolumab.  It was a smashing success.  Stewart says his urinary function is normal and he is able to resume his active lifestyle, which includes cycling and scuba diving.

Additional Resources:

Support Group:

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network   https://www.bcan.org

Time Stamps:

02:07 Stewart said his cancer journey began with annual physical.

03:20 He was directed to a urological surgeon, who gave him very bad news.

05:50 Went to a second doctor, who had more bad news.

06:50 A third doctor informed Stewart he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer.

07:42 Stewart’s third oncologist insisted on treatment, despite the daunting diagnosis.

08:45 Describes his treatment, which began with chemotherapy.

09:55 Post-treatment, he was afraid to leave the house.

10:36 After chemo, he qualified for a new immunotherapy, nivolumab.

12:41 Toughest part of chemo regimen.

14:59 Stewart is asked, physically, how close he is to 100 percent.

19:23 Advice for others diagnosed with bladder cancer.

KEYWORDS (tags):

bladder cancer

stewart greenfield

cisplatin

metastatic bladder cancer

gemcidibine

immunotherapy

bruce morton

nivolumab