-
Bladder Cystitis due to BCG
Hi
My father went for a general USG scan for checking the pelvic region and the UT and bladder and thanks God all is fine with no focal growth and mass seen. But I know its not as reliable as cystoscopy. Will do the Cystoscope after Jan 15 as Rx by Uro.
What the USG found is Bladder cystitis in some areas which has increased since last USG from 6.6 to 9mm. Radiologist said its BCG side effect.
Please advise me for anything below:
1. Is this a serious issues and due we need to address it before our first maintenance BCG ( Jan 25th) starts?
2. Is this a common side effect after BCG and will go away of its own? No treatment needed.
3. Do we need to do urine culture ? We have done urine culture for 24 hrs and it came out to be negative for any bacterium. Do we need to repeat it and do it for 48hrs?
4. Our last cystoscope was done on 06 Nov and it came to be negative for any recurrence. Uro said we will do one more cystoscope after Jan 15 to start the 3 doses of maintenance BCG.
5. Can we lower the dose from 80ml to 40 ml in our first BCG maintenance ? so as to lower the side effects?Please advise for above
Thanks and Regards
-
6 Replies
-
Thanks Alan , Sara,
Appreciate, you guys are so cooperative and supportive by sharing your experiences and lessons learned. I pray to God to bless u with good health and long life.
Thanks and Regards.
-
Sbills,
There are no irrelevant questions! As an observation from a male, your Dad’s path sounds very similar to my experiences. It may take several weeks to have all of the side effects to subside when done with treatments. The good news as Sara says it also reflects the BCG is probably doing its job! Delaying or skipping a couple of inductions are likely irrelevant.
As many have said in older posts, do what you can do. There are very few that have been able to complete a 3 or 4 year protocol.
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 Sara
Thanks for the answer. I really really appreciate it. Apologies for asking irrelevant questions, but was asking with intentions that you might be able to comment on it based on ur experiences.I will definitely discuss the matter with Uro. He recommended Cysto after Jan 15. Hop all goes well.
Thanks again for the time and reply
Regards and Respect.
Your questions about the timing of the next BCG should be asked of your father’s urologist. We are not doctors here and just try to share our experience. However, it is not usual for BCG to be given when there is a sore or similar irritation in the bladder.
I wouldn’t worry about delaying the BCG treatment for a bit. Your father’s reactions do seem to indicate that his immune system is reacting to it!
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the reply and responseFather was suffering from frequency side effect and burning during urination which has reduced to around 80% from last one month. 23rd Oct he had 4th BCG. Since then we stopped and side effects reduced a lot, but not fully gone.
Recent Urine test also revealed much better results w.r.t puss cells and proteins, and RBC’s. A much better urine result than before. Puss cells 20-30 than 60-80.Recent USG revealed Bladder Cystitis which is exactly where the HG was diagnosed. He has no specific symptoms from cystitis except frequency and burning while urination. Other symptoms were really minor( Low grade fever , felling tired and of course weakness) other than this no pain in bladder or abdomen, no hematuria.
But you said , BCG will not be given until it heals? Does that mean we have to stop the BCG till cystitis heals fully? Please advise what best can be done in this case. Already we are lagging two BCG from induction (recommended 6 BCG) now do we need to delay the first maintenance as well.
Please advise
Thanks , Regards and Respect.
BCG-induced cystitis is a rather common side effect (ask me how I know!!) It really is irritation caused by the reaction to the BCG. It has nothing to do with a bladder infection. It usually goes away on its own. Has your father had any symptoms from it?
Usually BCG is not given until this heals. The question of a reduced dose is something that your father could discuss with the urologist. This is usually done only when the side effects start to become unbearable. BCG-induced cystitis is usually not one of these.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum ModeratorSign In to reply.