A few months ago, Terry Bradshaw scared a lot of his many fans.
The Hall of Fame quarterback, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles during his 14-year career and has been a commentator on the FOX NFL Sunday studio show since the network started showing NFL games in 1994, talked about something that happened on air the months before.
“I couldn’t breathe, and Howie Long helped me up. A lot of people have asked me what’s wrong with me and what’s happened to me physically “he said. “I just want to talk about it and tell you what’s been going on in my life.
He went on to say that he had been told he had bladder cancer in November 2021 and that he had a rare type of skin cancer called Merkel cell cancer on his neck in March.
He said that his doctors had declared him cancer free. This is because he had separate surgeries for each of the two conditions at different places.
“People, I may not look like my old self, but I feel like my old self,” said the 74-year-old NFL legend, who has also been on “The Bradshaw Bunch” on the E! Network.
“I don’t have cancer. He said, “I feel great.”
Both of Bradshaw’s cancers could have killed him, but bladder cancer is much more common than Merkel cell cancer, so let’s focus on that one.
Co-host Michael Strahan praised Bradshaw on air after his announcement.
Bradshaw hasn’t slowed down since he won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1970 to 1983. He has had a successful career in broadcast television, made cameo appearances in movies and TV shows, and even starred with his family in a short-lived reality show called The Bradshaw Bunch.
One of Bradshaw’s cohosts, Michael Strahan, who used to play defensive end in the NFL, praised him on air after he made his announcement.
During today’s show, Terry Bradshaw shared that he has been battling cancer over the past year. As of today, he is cancer free, and he discussed his fight and plan for the future: pic.twitter.com/RSwVxlXC97
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 2, 2022
“TB, everyone here knows how hard things have been for you. Strahan said, “You are the best teammate there is, and you know we love you. You are the glue that holds this show together.” “But even with all that, we’re just so glad you’re here. We’re glad you’re done with cancer, and I think you’ll give a lot of people who are going through something similar a lot of hope.”
Bladder Cancer Study
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control say that each year, bladder cancer is found in about 75,000 Americans, 57,000 men, and 18,000 women. The owner of the Urology Center of Palm Beach in Loxahatchee, Dr. Diego Rubinowicz, says that smoking cigarettes are the main thing that puts you at risk for bladder cancer.
“Smoking cigarettes or being around tobacco, including secondhand smoke, is the main cause of bladder cancer,” says Rubinowicz. He says that some studies have also linked bladder cancer to the chemicals used in the rubber industry, as well as to some heavy metals, fluorocarbons, and hair dyes.
He also says, “There are other rare causes of bladder cancer, such as chronic bladder irritation, chronic bladder infections, and chronic catheters that stay in the bladder for a long time.” Blood in the urine is often the first sign that someone has bladder cancer. Rubinowicz says that some of his patients have had a burning feeling (called dysuria) when they went to the bathroom.
Rubinowicz says that anyone who sees blood in their urine should see a urologist right away, even if the problem seems to go away on its own.
“Even though blood in the urine could be caused by something else, cancer should be ruled out first,” he says.
A cystoscopy, in which a camera is used to look directly into the bladder, is often used to find out if someone has bladder cancer. This minimally invasive procedure can be done in a doctor’s office or as an outpatient at a hospital.
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Bladder Cancer Treatment
How you treat bladder cancer depends on how far along it is and how bad the tumor or lesion is. Rubinowicz says, for example, that superficial lesions may need endoscopic (transurethral) excision followed by intravesical chemotherapy (chemotherapy that is put straight into the bladder through a catheter) or immunotherapy.
On the other hand, deeper lesions may need other, more complicated treatments, such as bladder resection (removing part or all of the bladder) and/or standard systemic chemotherapy.
“There is a protocol that includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy for people who are not good candidates for this kind of major surgery,” says Rubinowicz.
There is a high chance that the disease will come back for people who have a “low-grade” form of it.
“I’d say it happens about 70% of the time with low-grade bladder cancer,” says Rubinowicz. This means that these patients need to have careful follow-up exams.
