BCG and irritated bladder

Hi, Winterwhite. My husband also had a bit of a detour in his BCG schedule due to bladder irritation. It occurred in December 2015 when redness was observed during a routine scope exam about six weeks after his first maintenance round of BCG (doses 7-9). This led to another "scraping" as my husband calls it. The earliest available surgery date was a month later (January 2016) so our holiday celebrations were a bit more meaningful. Fortunately, the pathology report confirmed no recurrence of CIS. Since then, he's had another round of maintenance BCG, another scope with no signs of irritation and began another three week cycle of maintenance BCG this week. Wishing you and your husband the best.

Winterwhite,

I have also had an inflamed and irritated bladder up to 2 months after BCG; I am told it is fairly common, and it is a sign that the BCG is continuing to do it's job - creating the immune system reaction that is desired. It is, however, not a lot of fun.

It does not sound like BCG maintenance is being delayed, but rather that the timing is right on track to start 2 to 3 months after the initial 6 dose treatment. There are a number different maintenance schedules that doctors seem to favor.

Best
Jack

My husband finished up 6 weeks of BCG on November 18 and went for his first cystoscopy today. The Urologist said he saw no sign of cancer, but my husband's bladder is very red and irritated from the 6 weeks of BCG. Urologist is having him come back in two months for another cystoscopy and then hopefully get him started on BCG maintenance. Just curious if others have had irritation and waited a bit for maintenance? Thanks in advance.