BCG

Patricia - Thank you for the sites. I appreciate them so much.

Rosemary - We might be located in the same area of each other. I have heard many good things about the Duke Urology and Cancer Center but was actually more impressed with the local urologist for my husband. The Doctor is very good no only in his field but following up on my husband and calling to see how he feels and also overall personal rapport with my husband and I. I would list his name but I am unsure if I can do that on this site.

I thank you so much for responding to my questions and concerns. This is a very scary time for both of us and it seems it is getting worse before getting better. I think that scares him the most as well as I.

Not sure if people on this board want their identities to be revealed but we are from the same area - would lov to chat with you. If not I understand and I thank you again for your help.

Dear Mini,

Well, it seems that our North Carolina group is growing ever bigger here.

It is actually the University of North Carolina where I got my second opinion. My local Urolgists here on the Coast seem to prefer UNC to Duke, though I'm not sure why. Duke has a better rating for Urology and Cancer. Still, I was very impressed with the Urological Surgeon who performd a biopsy on me in Chapel Hill.

Mini, I do not have CIS so I have little personal experience. There is a poster here who was Dx'd with CIS that had a similar experience with bleeding during BCG treatment. He did eventually get through it, though he had a very rough go of it.

CIS is a sneaky disease, they say, and BCG is the gold standard treatment. The fact that your husband's tumor was Ta and not T1 or T2 is a very good thing. Still, great caution and vigilance is required for a bladder sparing protocol under these conditions. But, I bet that you know that.

Welcome to our Board. I hope that your husband is feeling better soon. I hope that the bleeding will not interfere too much with the treatment as prescribed, and I do hope that you will keep us posted.

Best regards,
Rosemary, of Crystal Coast of North Carolina (and not South Carolina, Pat!)

Mini...here's one of the best papers i've read on CIS and papillary tumors...
www.emedicine.com/med/TOPIC3022.HTM
By the way if you should seek another opinion Rosemary goes to an excellent uro at the Univ of SC.......surgery.med.unc.edu/detail.asp?ID=127
Pat

We are located in North Carolina. He was first diagnosed with the TCC and the grade was T-A. After removal of that tumor in the bladder wall, the dr did 8 biopsies throughout the bladder. One of the biopsies located at the bottom of the bladder came back as the Carcinoma In Situ and was explained to us that it was a grade 2/4. The way I understood it was the grade was a "2" out of a possible 4 with 4 being more advanced.

The dr is a urologist that has also treated many cancer patients. He seems very thorough and we really like him. My husband was also seen at Duke University in Durham. The cancer specialist there said he agrees with the treatment that his current dr is doing.

Hope this helps. Thanks so much for replying.

I am trying to understand your husbands diagnosis. Is he stage 4? Where are you located? Are you seeing a Bladder Cancer Specialist or a Urologist? Did you go with the first opinion?

If he is stage 4 I don't understand the treatment he is getting...

Thanks,
Karen

Good morning to everyone. I haven't ever posted before, but have been reading for about a couple of weeks now. I was hoping that someone might read this and have some insight or comments. I will try to explain but yet not be too long winded...

My husband has bladder cancer. It started with painful urination, but no blood. After numerous tests, he was diagnosed with Transitional Cell Carcinoma. The dr removed the tumor and did numerous biopsies throughout the bladder. The results were Carcinoma In Situ Stage 2/4. The dr is doing BCG treatments. He is now on his first round of treatments, but midway through (#4 of 6) the urine test came back that there was blood in his urine. The dr wanted him to wait another week before he gets another treatment for obvious reasons. Our concern is the painful urination is not getting any better and now he says it seems to burn/hurt where the bladder is located - not only pain when urinating.

We are just very concerned and if the pain is still as bad tomorrow as it is today - we will call his dr. He has an excellent dr and is very compassionate. We were just wanting to hear any comments, suggestions, concerns etc... Also to note - he cannot take normal pain medicine because his liver function levels were high and the drs think they may be due to all the pain meds taken before.

I apologize for the length of my post, but do appreciate in advance any help that anyone can offer. Thank you and have a great day.