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BCG Shortage. – WHAT NOW?
My husband was diagnosed in December of 2017 and started treatment in January of 18. He is 14 treatments in and about 3 treatments ago they started talking about half doses as a possibility. He was supposed to do number 15 this coming Friday but the Dr’s office called and said he will actually do a half dose on Tuesday of next week and since it will be his 15th treatment they will discontinue his treatment due to the shortage.
What Now? We are worried about recurrence. It will be 3+ weeks until he sees his Urologist. What are patient options on this shortage. Do they really just say Oh Well and move on? What Now? -
2 Replies
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Thank you for your answer. We both find your answer to be comforting. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
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Your husband has had 15 treatments, so he should be OK. Many patients do not make it through even that many because of side effects. Also, reduced doses even as low as 10% have been shown to be effective….the dose is reduced this much again because of side effects. There is no “magic” number or scientifically determined number of treatments. What is used is what seems to work. There are numerous protocols for BCG and they are not all the same. Many patients only receive 6 treatments and that is it. Your husband has received 15.
Sometimes mitomycin is used when there is a BCG shortage (this is not the first time this has happened, unfortunately) and a patient has not had ANY BCG.
As I said, your husband has had enough BCG to be well protected. We have heard that the shortage is lessening a bit so it may be possible for his urologist to resume these in a few months.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
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