Artist Tracey Emin Was Working on a Painting of a Lump When She found Out She had Bladder Cancer; What Are the Treatment Options for This Disease?

On BBC Women’s Hour this week, Emin opened up about her cancer experience, saying, “It was unbelievable. It all happened within three weeks. The whole finding out – the diagnosis, the prognosis and the surgery. It was pretty phenomenal,” she says.

#TraceyEmin will appear on #BBCWomansHour this morning (Weds 5 May) ahead of her exhibition reopening at the #RoyalAcademyofArts, #London, this month.⁣

Listen live on #BBCRadio4 today at 10am BST or stream on BBC iPlayer tomorrow: https://t.co/uRU3nnZO7E pic.twitter.com/Q2y9O2w93y

— White Cube (@_WhiteCube) May 5, 2021

Treating Bladder Cancer

Emin treated her bladder cancer with extensive surgery. She tells the BBC, “I had my bladder removed. I had my uterus removed. My fallopian tubes, my urethra, part of my intestine. My lymph nodes and half of my vagina.” Post-surgery the artist tells the BBC, “At the moment, I'm just really happy to get my life back.”

Emin said she found some humor in the situation. “It was quite funny,” she said. “When the surgeon was telling me what I was going to have removed, and he said my urethra, I said: ‘You’re joking aren’t you? Please tell me there’s nothing else’.”

Treatments for bladder cancer can include surgery, biological therapy, chemotherapy, and in some cases, immunotherapy. In an earlier interview, Johns Hopkins medical oncologist Dr. Jeannie Hoffman-Censits explains using immunotherapy for this type of cancer.

“Immunotherapy is a really powerful tool that we use in urothelial cancer in all different disease states. There’s probably hundreds of clinical trials ongoing really, if you look at it,” she says.

“So, at least for advanced urothelial cancer, the disease that I treat, the current indication for both pembrolizumab and atezolizumab is front line. If someone is not a chemotherapy candidate at all, or if a tumor biomarker shows that the tumors PD-L1 positive, it can be considered in the front line. Maintenance therapy has been FDA approved with a survival benefit,” says Dr. Hoffman-Censits.

Immunotherapy is Considered a "Powerful Tool" to Treat Bladder Cancer

Art Through Cancer

For artists like Emin, art can be a literal and figurative lifesaver. Many people find their creative outlets to be an important part of the cancer journey, or part of a grief journey as well. Actor Pierce Brosnan, who lost his first wife and daughter to ovarian cancer, has spoken about how art and painting have helped him process his cancer-related grief.

Related: Pierce Brosnan Reveals How Art Helped Him Cope During First Wife's Ovarian Cancer: "Now the pain sometimes comes through in color"

Art can also be a way to re-direct your focus while going through an emotionally taxing experience like cancer. We’re glad to see that Emin is actively creating again after her cancer surgery. Emin’s most famous works, “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With” and “My Bed,”  explored topics such as gender, sexuality and autonomy.

Music and Art Reflecting Your Cancer Journey

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