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BCG treatment hygiene
Glad to have found your website! I was diagnosed with bladder cancer in June 2014 after having several tests(ultrasound;CT scan;cystoscope). I’m 62, female, and had no symptoms except for trace blood in my urine. After these tests, a transitional cell carcinoma [superficial — non-invasive]was found on the right side of my bladder and I had it removed successfully! I just had my 3 month check-up though and now I have several “lesions” that appeared on the left side of the bladder. I’m going to have another surgery to remove these and also check for any “blockage” in my right ureter. As before, I had absolutely no symptoms “warning” me of this recent development. My husband and I thought we’d be coming back with good news…and then just get my next checkup in January. Being “off-guard” and unprepared is the most daunting with this disease for me…my question to those who have been through treatments. I may have to be receiving treatments after this surgery and I’m still wondering…BCG is a common treatment, but not much has been said about the “hygiene factor” in the home after the treatment is given…there is concern for this “live bacteria” in the bathroom area when a person urinates–suggesting bleach cleanup–on all fixtures affected? bathtub, sink, faucets, gloves, etc. necessary for caregiver too!–does this treatment affect the other orifices (vaginal, anal) as well as the skin on the patient when cleaning up–is soap and water sufficient enough? what about garments? how are they handled? can disposable diapers (like Depends?) be worn for convenience or does that complicate matters? where can you dispose of the gloves, wipes etc. each time the bathroom is used? I know not much has been said about this and was wondering why there isn’t more information given? we only have one bathroom–what pre-cautions should we make? I’d appreciate any feedback from others who have been through this ordeal–any tips? I don’t expect any of this to be easy, just learning to wear a catheter after surgery was a real eye-opener! I admire all of you who have survived! it takes one step at a time…
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9 Replies
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Hi there. And sorry about your new lifelong adventure with BC. So far you sound like a normal patient, with a plan of attack right on target. Probably a 4 week rest before BCG. I always had a urine test first to check for infections, which would prevent treatment that day. It took about 2 years before the first “cancer free” report. Hope Dec provides the 24 month all clear cysto report. Valid bombardments with BCG questions. Hope you have searched and read the topic here, lots of discussion. And you mind becomes more at ease from being terrified of creating a hazardous environment from the treatment. You’ll be fine with a few simple precautionary procedures for a few hours that day. Symptoms, if any, should be more annoying than problematic. Good that you seek information, because you’ll want to know more about YOU and your specific situation, not that of everyone else. Keep posting as you proceed, any talk is welcome. It may be on line, but one form of support.
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Copied this from Wikipedia for you
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (historically Vaccin Bilié de Calmette et Guérin commonly referred to as Bacille de Calmette et Guérin or BCG) is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from a strain of the attenuated (virulence-reduced) live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium bovis, that has lost its virulence in humans by being specially subcultured in a culture medium, usually Middlebrook 7H9. Because the living bacilli evolve to make the best use of available nutrients, they become less well-adapted to human blood and can no longer induce disease when introduced into a human host. Still, they are similar enough to their wild ancestors to provide some degree of immunity against human tuberculosis.
Your doctor, who knows your medical history, will be able to advise you on this.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum ModeratorI guess for me it will be never used. I am immuno compromised. But I thought the Bcg bacteria were dead and not dangerous.
Don’t worry about us “bearing with you” CareE! When I was first diagnosed I was sure that I now knew what I would die of!!! Turned out not to be true, but we are all entitled to a few bits of total panic!
What you have appears to be very treatable, and the treatment was not as bad (for me) as a trip to the dentist (I am dentist-phobic…strange since my husband was an oral surgeon)
We are here for you to sound off to!
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Please bear with me, I’m still trying to navigate this website..thank you for your quick reply on the bcg…I know that eliminating the cancer is top priority–with my breast cancer it was a full year of treatments and it was caught early(tumor was as small as a grain of rice!)in my mammograms–I had been taking them since I was 40 and it was noticed when I was 52! so screening and great treatments have keep me going strong! I want to fight this bladder cancer as well–so sudden and no symptoms except for a UA that had trace blood detected…you never know…thank you again for feedback…I appreciate and admire everyone who has to deal with this condition…another “bump in the road” to put it mildly…
CareE
BCG will NOT cause TB. It was produced in the 1920’s initially as a safe vaccine for children. The only way a problem would arise would be if you had a compromised immune system (leukemia, AIDS) and then they would not give it to you.
Occasionally a person will have a sensitivity reaction and then BCG is discontinued and another, usually less effective treatment is used.The thing that you should be afraid of is bladder cancer. BCG can almost cure it in about 70% of the cases. It is life-saving, and many of us are thankful for it.
It is not dangerous.Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Thank you for all your feedback on the bcg treatment…but I still can’t help but wonder about the risk factors…especially for a woman. A woman’s urethra is shorter distance from other areas of concern. [at least a man can direct his penis so it isn’t “spraying” on his scrotum or anus areas]–a woman has the clitoris,vulva,vagina, and anus all in close proximity of the urethra and would have to keep those areas somehow protected from “spray” as well as “leakage” from coughing/sneezing (muscle tone being a big factor–if you don’t have it because of childbirth etc. you can’t control it!)–and not to mention if you have hemmorhoid that aren’t too fussy now–but can be tender with any stress…how does this bcg effect the skin/tissue too? what do you do with the garments/wipes/towels you use? throw away or bleach? I may seem very blatant about these concerns only because I’m a breast cancer survivor of 10 years and I’ve had lots of support from our “buddy system”–I kind of knew what I’d be going through even though we all had “individual” circumstances–I’m not finding any other “support group” like that with bladder cancer–I asked right away at our doctors association and they said they didn’t have any such group…so that’s why I’m bombarding this group with my questions…I did have my second surgery removing tumors and cauterizing some others–so the doctor said I would be having bcg treatments after I’ve healed…I’ve come down with mouth sores/scratchy throat from the breathing tube(I had those during breast cancer too) and random coughing fits after this last operation which has been deemed as a “virus” or allergies — so while I’m dealing with this “virus”–my question is why do I want to complicate matters by adding something else that could be risky–how many people with bcg treatments have become positive for TB? how does this treatment prevent the person from having complications of TB? Just general questions in my mind as I also wonder how I can build up a good immune system with all this stuff inbetween tearing it down? None of us wants to be dealing with this disease,but I feel I can handle it better when I have more information…in the meantime, I’m sipping my chicken soup and taking plenty of vitamin B. thank you for feedback…CareE
As Diane said BCG doesn’t need a bio hazard approach. My URO even chuckled when I first asked about the danger and he answered “If it were that dangerous wouldn’t allow myself or staff handle it”! Bleach is still a good idea in the toilet to be safe. We used a tablet in the reservoir basin so it would release over several uses as opposed to trying to trying to clean each time.
DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.
Hi,
Sorry to be a while in replying -To ease your worries, while there is a risk of contamination from the bcg treatments, the risk is very low provided sensible measures are taken. Bleach is very effective in destroying the bacteria, so you are advised to put a good cupful into the toilet basin after voiding.Men are advised to pee while sitting on the loo to avoid splash. Of course the first couple of visits to the loo following the treatment are likely to contain the highest concentration of bacteria, after that the concentration is very low. You do not need to treat your bathroom as a biohazard zone, just be sensible, and a good wipe down with bleach should remove any risk of contamination to anyone else in the family.You are advised not to use bathrooms used by the public, simply because it would be very difficult to carry bleach around everywhere with you. I believe sex is not advisable at least for a few days following treatment (that is if you have time for it inbetween running to the bathroom and sloshing your bleach about lol). My main tip for you to help you with the minimum amount of discomfort following treatment, is to start drinking water about 20 mins before you void the bcg. and thereafter keep drinking plenty of water until the symptoms are gone, Not everyone has side effects, but many do, the main ones being frequency, urgency, varying degrees of pain or burning and sometimes bleeding or passing of clots. The more you keep drinking water, the sooner the symptoms seem to go.Keep your doctor aware of your side effects, if any, he can give medication which will help reduce spasms if you need them. Good luck with your treatments,
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