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  • Non Invasive Bladder Cancer

    Newly diagnosed bladder Cancer

    Posted by wjjjcm on January 7, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    Start of Discussion
    0 of 0 replies June 2018
    Now

    Hello,
    I recently was diagnosed with high grade bladder cancer. They removed the tumor and we had what was called a TURB preformed. The results of the TURB were:

    1. Severe Urothelial Dysplasia
    2. Muscularis Propria is represented and is uninvolved by Tumor

    What does all this mean? My doctor wants to start me on a 6 weeks chemo type treatment where they place a liquid in my bladder for one hour I guess to kill potential cancer cells. I understand this is not your typical cancer treatment when you think of cancer treatment.

    What can I expect with this treatment? Will I get sick, etc……. I understand they can only do this type of treatment twice. What are the odds for this type of treatment? Any advice, information or comment is appreciated. Thanks WJJJCM

    4Phil replied 10 years, 7 months ago 5 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • 4Phil's avatar

    4Phil

    Member
    August 5, 2014 at 2:53 pm

    Hi Joey,
    I found this year old post on the bladder support site. I hope you are still doing well without and recurrence of CIS. My husband is facing a very difficult decision with CIS in that his last 18 biopsies have been negative but he is still being told by Cleveland Clinic that the bladder must be removed to assure optimal survival rate, because the cancer will come back. Can you please share your story with us? Thank you, Laurie & Phil

  • joey's avatar

    joey

    Member
    January 8, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    Bill, I was dx December 2007 low grade non invasive with a recurrence in May 2008 of CIS. I have had 30 BCG treatments and have been cancer free since May 2008. My side effects were different each time with more during the maintenace treatments then the initial 6. However for me the majority of the symptoms ceased within 48 hours.

    Joey

  • wjjjcm's avatar

    wjjjcm

    Member
    January 8, 2013 at 3:48 pm

    Thank you for the information. I’m new to this blogging and forum type of communication. I really appreciate all information provided.

    Thank You,

    Bill aka:wjjjcm

  • Alan's avatar

    Alan

    Member
    January 8, 2013 at 2:11 am

    WJJJCM,

    “What can I expect with this treatment? Will I get sick, etc……. I understand they can only do this type of treatment twice. What are the odds for this type of treatment? Any advice, information or comment is appreciated. Thanks WJJJCM”

    Your Doc should give your more info on what the therapy is. Sara Anne and I beleive he is talking about BCG but “they can only do this tiwce” raises questions. Is this another type of chemical or chemo?

    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.
  • sara.anne's avatar

    sara.anne

    Member
    January 7, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    You will see that I have moved your post from “invasive” to “non-invasive” bladder cancer questions. This is GOOD news! From your post, it appears that your cancer is NOT invasive….your path report states
    “2. Muscularis Propria is represented and is uninvolved by Tumor”

    However, your diagnosis was “high grade.” I wonder if CIS (carcinoma in situ) was present? Your urologist is doing the appropriate treatment for high grade, because I suspect that the installation will be BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) which is the treatment of choice in such cases. It is also possible, although not as likely, that he might be using Mitomycin.

    Since bladder cancer such as yours is still confined to the bladder, it is possible to treat it very successfully without subjecting the entire body to the type of chemo used for other, systemic cancers.

    If you will be receiving BCG, you will find LOTS of information in this forum about it. Usually it is instilled once a week for 6 weeks. Then there is a waiting period to allow the bladder lining to heal; your doctor will then examine the bladder to see how things are going. Most likely you will then have the treatment once a week for three weeks, every few months, for a total of about 2 years. These maintenance treatments have been shown to increase the effectiveness of BCG significantly.

    There are side effects with BCG. You may have cramping, bleeding, and fatigue, but this usually lasts only for the day of instillation and maybe into the next. These side effects show that the treatment is WORKING!! If they become too uncomfortable, the doctor can reduce the dose significantly without reducing the effectiveness. This treatment is certainly better than traditional chemo!!

    I was diagnosed with high grade CIS four years ago. Had BCG treatments (down to 1/3 dose at the end) and am still cancer-free!!

    I may have overwhelmed you with information, but want to assure you that this is very do-able! Feel free to ask LOTS of questions. We have all been there!

    Sara Anne

    Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
    BCG; BCG maintenance
    Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
    Forum Moderator

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