Laura Bukavina, MD, on challenges faced by women with bladder cancer

In this interview, Laura Bukavina, MD, MPH, MSc, discusses some of the challenges that women face following a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Bukavina is an assistant professor of urologic oncology at Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urologic Institute and the translational science lead in GU oncology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.

Video Transcript:

Just thinking about anatomy overall, a lot of female cystectomy patients, we do what's called an anterior exenteration, which means we take the bladder, the vagina, the uterus, [and] we can put patients in early menopause. Even if they're postmenopausal, we remove the ovaries, which puts them at a higher risk for other complications such as osteopenia.

Mental health is a real challenge because females are typically thought of and think of themselves as providers, as caregivers. They're in that age where they're taking care of their husband, their grandkids, perhaps even their elderly parents. However, they can no longer be the caregiver. They have to be able to be the patient. And a lot of times, a lot of our female patients have such a difficulty transitioning from that role and always thinking about [themselves] as the caregiver. The first question a lot of times is, "who's going to help my husband?" Or "who's going to help my kids? How am I going to help with my grandkids?" That happens all the time, and that's something that mental health and being able to adjust with the help of behavioral health specialists is very important for them to continue their treatment.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.