June 30, 2016 – Bladder Cancer Center

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Anchor lead:  Bladder cancer is finally getting much needed attention, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Bladder cancer sometimes gets lost among the other, more common cancers such as prostate or breast, but that’s poised to change with the establishment of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute at Johns Hopkins. Erwin Greenberg, whose generous gift has allowed creation of the institute, frames up the issue.

Greenberg: If I asked you right now what do you know about bladder cancer the chances are you’d tell me oh my uncle had it or somebody else had it I knew, and in the horrible name cancer high on the list were breast cancer, prostate cancer, this disease was swept under the rug.  :20

The numbers of bladder cancer cases are quite large.

Greenberg: In the United States there are 75,000 cases a year mostly men but it can be women as well. Many are never diagnosed so the number could be much higher. From an international point of view we’re talking about 350,000 cases of this disease.  :19

Greenberg hopes the institute will allow a multidisciplinary approach to research and treatment for bladder cancer.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.