Patient Support

Touched by bladder cancer? Come learn with us! The University of Kansas Health System's bladder cancer support group was created to provide support for patients, survivors and caregivers. Meetings are held every other month at Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing. Contact Katie Mann for registration at 913-588-7576 or email.

This group deals with the often-debilitating condition of interstitial cystitis, an inflammatory condition of the bladder. For additional information or to inquire on dates of meetings, contact Dr. Griebling's office, 913-588-6147.

Our Stoma Boot Camp is a two hour session offered to all patients scheduled to undergo a radical cystectomy with ileal conduit in order to help patients adjust to life after surgery. It provides patients an opportunity to learn alongside their treatment team about their upcoming operation, to go over post-operative expectations, and to get hands on teaching from our high skilled ostomy and wound team. Our goal is to improve patient's quality of life, post-operative outcomes, and provider satisfaction to name a few. As a prior patient said, you would be amiss not to attend.

This group provides support and information for those patients living with an ostomy. It meets the third Wednesday of every other month at Advent Health. For more information, please contact Deb Kueker at 913-588-3118.

Resolve is a national support group that can assist couples with information about options for infertility treatments and also helps couples deal with the stresses associated with this very emotional problem. Information is also available through the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Path2Parenthood is another resource for infertility prevention, reproductive health and family building.

Fertility before or after cancer treatment is another difficult time. Survivorship and hope for fertility in those who do not have children or who have not completed their family is important for many couples. An excellent resource for investigating issues of fertility and cancer can be found at fertilehope.org.

If you wish to help others in the future with the same problem, please help us by being part of a registry to track the outcomes of infertility treatments and any health issues for the male and female as well as the children.

Men's Health Network, or MHN, is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to reach men and their families where they live, work, play and pray with health prevention messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities and patient navigation. The Network's goals are to:

• Save men's lives by reducing premature mortality of men and boys.
• Foster healthcare education and services that encourage men of all ages to implement positive lifestyles for themselves and their families.
• Increase the physical and mental health of men so they can live fuller and happier lives.
• Significantly reduce the cycles of violence and addiction that afflict so many men.
• Energize government involvement in men's health activities so that existing government health networks can be utilized to increase the health and well-being of men and boys.
• Encourage women to expand on their traditional role as the family's healthcare leader and activist for enhancement of healthcare services.
• Men's Health Week is a national awareness week to support the health of men. Please help support this the week prior to Father's Day.

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