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2 BCG Treatments Down – 1 To Go
About a month ago I posted that my husband had 2 new tumors at the 3 month Cysto check. Very familiar territoy for him as he has never had a clean 3 month Cysto. However this was the first time they did a biopsy in the procedure room. Reflecting on that day there are a couple of unsettling images that have not left my mind. When the doctor grabbed tumor #1 with the mini scissors and pulled not all of the tumor was removed and there was a lot of floating particles of tissue/tumor. This scares me. Can a small particle enter the bloodstream and make a home somewhere else in the body? The pathology came back low grade for the first time ever. Due to some staging/grading discrepancies early on they had been sending all of my husband’s samples to two different labs. This was not done this time. So therefore I am hoping this is not an understage as it happens so often with bladder cancer. Even though my husband is considered a BCG failure x 2 he has currently completed two of three treatments as of Friday. The final one will be this coming Friday and a repeat Cysto in January. I just feel like each and every time he does a series of treatments that he is playing with fire and that eventually he’s going to get burned. I respect his decisions but they are not what I would chose for him. It weighs heavily on my mind that he is going to regret trying to save his bladder instead of playing it safe and saving his life. Sorry I rambled but I feel so uneasy when I think about the situation and I respect so many of you that contribute here and I am grateful for any input.
Age 53 Currently
Bladder Cancer Diagnosis October 2006 T1G3
2011 Finally made it 6 month between Cystos
8/22/2011 Cysto in the OR
(BCG and BCG Maintenance over the years)
Graduated to yearly Cystos
Tumor found at first one year Cysto – TURBT 4/26/2013
Kidney pain – CT scan 5/1/20134 Replies-
Wow…doing a resect in a doctors office…just ouch! And probably not enough of a sample to do pathology on right? When margins are left behind it lays open the ground for re-seeding. I don’t know women just look at this differently than men. If you’ve not gotten a second opinion i would urge you to do so.
And i’m so a believer in the skill of the surgeon…Bali i had my second TURB done at MSK by Dr. Herr with his magic scalpel. My cancer was invasive into the muscle…he was able to get the margins my local left behind and also to remove ALL of the tumor from the muscle. My pathology came back..no invasion seen. I was still advised to have the bladder out as he said…”IT will be back”……..I’m almost 6 yrs out from surgery and maybe it will be back as there are no guarantees but going to MSK was the smartest decision i ever made. Pat -
I would be very worried about the recurring tumors if you have high grade bladder cancer. I don’t think it is such an issue if it is low grade. Yes, staging errors do occur at the labs. It happened to me. I was understaged. My first uro said mine was superficial and actually ignored his own path report that said suspicious for invasion. That is when I sought a second opinion at Sloan Kettering.
Dr. Bochner did another path and said that the tumors had begun invasion although I was lucky that it had not gotten into the muscle. I opted to just have the bladder removed. He said that I have more than a 90% chance of long term survival now but it would drop dramatically if it invaded the muscle. I like life better than my bladder and my life really has not changed.
I credit the members of this site with encouraging me to seek another opinion and then going with the cystectomy. I was hestitant at first to have the surgery because I thought Dr. Bochner might be a bit hasty but after I read the articles that the members suggested I read, I knew that surgery was the right decision. Waiting and taking chances with cancer doesn’t make sense.
Balihigh
female 60
1/08 dx 4 tumors TURB
T1 G3
12 BCG + interferon
5/08 another tumor/TURB
9/08 RC illieal conduit
If you’ve asked all the questions you can and have not received satisfactory answers, maybe its time to seek a second opinion? :unsure:
Bob
T1 G3
Age 66
DX April 2008
TURB April 2008
Last BCG (#15) April 2009
I have chosen to keep giving the BCG a chance to work.
I have had 3 TURBs and 26 BCG treatments, since 2005.
My staging has been Superficial,TA Stage 1.
I feel, based on what I have read, and reasearched, as long as my staging does not get worse, and tumors remain Superficial, I will try to save my bladder.
My Urogolist and my Family Doc both agree with me.
I am now 13 months tumor free, and have completed 10 of 12 monthly BCG treatments. Maybe the monthly BCG treatments have finally worked.
I tend to be a positive person, so I am assuming that is the case.
I hope that the BCG treatments do work for your husband.
I wish I could offer you more than my personal history with TURBS and BCG.
Best of luck to you both.
Jack
TA Grade 1
3 Turbts
30 BCG Treatments
Cancer Free since Nov 2007Sign In to reply.
