Writer starts a new chapter after bladder cancer diagnosis

Jayne Adams attributes her health after a bladder cancer diagnosis to the professionalism of the team of doctors from four different health systems that cared for her and to her own positive attitude.

“I believe – and I said this to Dr. Grubb when he went to the tumor board – ‘I want you to tell the tumor board that I am going to live to 115. I have books to write. So don’t let them think I’m some little old lady who isn’t willing to fight this disease with everything she’s got! That’s not who I am,’” she said. “I’m hoping that attitude, ultimately, is going to contribute to my cure.”

And, in fact, her doctors have said she is cancer-free after undergoing surgery at MUSC Health in Charleston in December.

A second career as a writer – and then cancer

Adams grew up in the Boston area and then had a career as an insurance executive in New York and elsewhere. When it came time to retire, she knew she wanted to head for the Carolinas.

“I always loved Beaufort, especially for Pat Conroy and the many other fine local authors, and so, when I retired down here, I became a writer myself,” she said.

Her short stories, she said, tend to follow the O. Henry model of developing characters and then having a twist at the end.

The twist in her own story was going in for relatively routine surgery and coming out with a bladder cancer diagnosis.

It had started when Adams had breakthrough bleeding, which she assumed was a side effect of a medication she was taking. Her doctor, though, sent her to a gynecologist to get it checked out. The gynecologist, in turn, thought there was something unusual and wanted to see more in the operating room, and since Adams was already scheduled for a surgery, the gynecologist agreed to collaborate so Adams could have both procedures at once.

At Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Adams was preparing for surgery when she noticed an unfamiliar doctor’s name on the paperwork.

“They called in – thank God – a third surgeon who was a urologist, and that probably saved my life because I had no idea there was anything going on with my bladder,” she said. “I remember when I was in prep, I saw the doctor’s name, and I said, ‘Well, who’s he?’ And they said, ‘Well, he lights up the field. He goes in through your bladder and up into the ureter, and then shines bright light through the ureter and that illuminates the field.’”

“I believe – and I said this to Dr. Grubb when he went to the tumor board – ‘I want you to tell the tumor board that I am going to live to 115. I have books to write. So don’t let them think I’m some little old lady who isn’t willing to fight this disease with everything she’s got! That’s not who I am.'"

Jayne Adams

When Adams woke up after surgery, it felt like she hadn’t been out long enough for the doctors to have done their work. And she was right.

“I woke up in what seemed like record time, and one of the surgeons was there and said they weren’t able to do the surgery,” she said. “It was because when the urologist went in with the stents, he said, ‘Oh my God, there’s a mass here, right in the neck of the ureter.’”

Although Adams didn’t know it at the time, blood in the urine is one of the key early signs of bladder cancer – often the only sign, as early-stage bladder cancer usually doesn’t cause other symptoms.

When it does cause symptoms, they’re often similar to symptoms of urinary tract infections, bladder stones or enlarged prostate, like burning during urination, having trouble urinating or urinating frequently or a feeling of having to go even when the bladder isn’t full.

Adams had a few risk factors for bladder cancer, which is among the top 10 most common cancers in the U.S. She had smoked cigarettes, and her mother had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. She also discovered, as she was conducting research for a historical novel set in Boston, that she might have had some chemical exposure.

“I found that the Naval Air Station that we would play across the street from ended up being declared a Superfund site,” she said.

Smoking, certain chemical exposures and family history are among the leading risk factors for bladder cancer.

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Adams was immediately referred to MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, where she met with Robert Grubb, M.D., a urologist who specializes in genitourinary cancers.

In November 2023, she underwent a transurethral resection of the bladder, or TURBT, to remove the tumor and determine whether the cancer had spread.

“It’s just so overwhelming to think that I have such wonderful people on the team that are looking out for me. It was a tough thing to go through but, God, did I have good partners.”

Jayne Adams

Testing showed that the cancer was stage 2, or muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Bladder cancer starts in the lining inside of the bladder. As it grows, it can spread into the connective tissue surrounding the bladder and then into the muscle that surrounds the bladder. Because Adams’ tumor had grown into the muscle, she would need additional treatment.

Normally, a patient would undergo a course of chemotherapy first and then follow up with more surgery. Adams was referred to an oncologist in her area, Gregory Haidemenos, M.D., at St. Joseph’s/Candler for chemotherapy close to home. However, because of the potential for serious side effects given her overall medical history, Haidemenos recommended against chemotherapy. Instead, he referred her back to MUSC for expedited surgery.

It was a difficult recovery from the 11-hour surgery, during which additional conditions were identified and treated, but Adams felt relieved.

“Now I can say at this point, I’m glad that I did it because I was just waking up with night terrors, knowing this thing was gnawing me from the inside,” she said.

Cooperative care

Adams has now been declared cancer-free, and she goes for CT scans and X-rays as a regular part of her post-operative surveillance routine. She’s grateful that she found her way to Hollings, and that all of her physicians worked together for her benefit.

“I am forever thankful for the team of surgeons I had, and I know a lot of work went on behind the scenes. You know, there were four different hospitals – MUSC, Trident Medical Center, Beaufort Memorial Hospital and Saint Joseph’s/Candler – and they just collaborated. I found out the doctors call each other all the time,” she said. “It’s just so overwhelming to think that I have such wonderful people on the team that are looking out for me. It was a tough thing to go through but, God, did I have good partners.”

She’s especially grateful for Julie Ross, R.N., who helps patients with wound care, and for nurse navigator Kim Stewart, R.N., who helps genitourinary patients navigate through complicated care situations.

“The nurse navigators, but particularly Kim, are so wonderful. Kim – I just love her to death. Very responsive, very sensitive to your feelings. She’s the right person in the right job,” Adams said.

Now, with surgery behind her, she can turn her attention back to her novel and, hopefully, getting it published.

Her advice to anyone out there with unusual symptoms? Don’t delay getting it checked.

“Put your fears aside and get yourself to a doctor ASAP. Because if there’s something wrong, it’s not going to get better by putting it off.”

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