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  • Second Round of BCG before RC

    Posted by bmathews9744 on August 8, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    Update—-I was given two choices since my path report showed CIS still present—more BCG or RC. I thought I could make the choice to have the RC. I am going to give BCG one more shot. If I fail BCG again, Dr. Smith said there is only one decision—RC.

    Has anyone had any luck with adding Interferon to the BCG???

    Brenda

    mmc replied 14 years, 6 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • mmc's avatar

    mmc

    Member
    August 9, 2010 at 1:04 am

    That’s one of the things that makes CIS so scary. It can be a cell thick, be invisible, and spread across the whole bladder. It was scarier to me when it was invisible than when they found the spot.

    Good luck with the BCG! It’s the best thing there is for CIS and has a high success rate.

    As I put on my flow chart of bladder cancer treatment, ANY recurrence of high grade should trigger a strong consideration of RC. I’m not a doctor and I am not saying RC is the way to go for you. Don’t get me wrong.

    As I already said earlier, just be very, very vigilant. Study all you can on RC and diversion options now so that you are prepared IF the RC becomes the treatment plan. I found it easier to study when it wasn’t staring me in the face. That way, when it did, I was ready to act quickly and knew exactly what I wanted done and by whom.

    Mike


    Age 54
    10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
    9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
    10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
    2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
    9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
    1/2014 ct scan results….distant mets
    2/2014 ct result…spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph system

    My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ABLCS or anyone else. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
  • bmathews9744's avatar

    bmathews9744

    Member
    August 9, 2010 at 12:15 am

    Mike– I had my third TURB July 27th at Vanderbilt. No tumors this time, however the path report showed CIS still present in bottom of bladder.

  • mmc's avatar

    mmc

    Member
    August 8, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    Brenda,

    It’s a tough choice. When it came back for me (the CIS) my plan was straight to RC. It turned out to be stage 2 when it came back so there was no question about it.

    For me, it came back within weeks of my cysto (that my local uro declared all clear upon visual inspection but the cytology showed recurrence). Even when I had blood clots in my urine and flew back early from my business trip and got another cysto the day after having blood in urine, the cysto looked clear.

    If you go for the BCG, be sure to keep a VERY close eye on it and get the cytologies. Is the plan to TURB the CIS and then do BCG or only do BCG?

    Mike


    Age 54
    10/31/06 dx CIS (TisG3) non-invasive (at 47)
    9/19/08 TURB/TUIP dx Invasive T2G3
    10/8/08 RC neobladder(at 49)
    2/15/13 T4G3N3M1 distant metastases(at 53)
    9/2013 finished chemo -cancer free again
    1/2014 ct scan results….distant mets
    2/2014 ct result…spread to liver, kidneys, and lymph system

    My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ABLCS or anyone else. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
  • 's avatar

    Guest
    August 8, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    Brenda…read this….but if it comes back…RC for sure
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1905993/
    also Dr. Berman…main pathologist at Hopkins maintains a blog…you might post over there and get his opinion.
    http://apps.pathology.jhu.edu/blogs/bladder/?p=6
    pat

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