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SKIPPING BCG FOR A WEEK
Hello Everybody,
If I need to push off for a week 1 or 2 BCG treatments during my six week treatment cycle, will that make my BCG treatment ineffective?
i personaly dont think that taking the 3rd or 4th dose of BCG 2 weeks apart instead of 1 week will do anything to make the treatment ineffective. i would appreciate if anyone has any information or possible experience issue to help me calm my nerves…..
Sincerely,
Sol,16 Replies-
My experiene: I received two BCG treatments, and had to suspend the regimen due to continued bleeding. I then took 8 weeks of Mitomycin with no side effects whatsoever. As a “precaution”, I asked to attempt the 6 BCG treatmens, which took 13 weeks (again, due to bleeding). My cystoscopy / urine culture / FISH returned no presence of cancer. I am home today recovering from yesterday’s second of three BCG treatments as my first round of maintenance, trying to decide if I want to go through this again next Monday.
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Sol,
I can only speak of myself, as I am not a authority on BCG – however, I am learning more and more. During my initial 6 WKs of BCG, I had to postpone one (for a week) due to an infection. I then completed all, have had 2 scopes and clear. I just completed my maintenance 3 BCG) and also had to postpone the last treatment 5 days, due to another small infection and the URO wanted to be careful. I am not sure I would have postponed except unless the URO reccommeded. I like to get thru the treatments as scheduled. But that is just me. Good Luck
Nancy S
Nancy S
Ta CIS
dx Ta 11/06
dx Ta CIS 10/07
Sol
Indeed, there’s a right time for every decision. which is one of the factors that makes a lot of BC treatment feel really hurried. sometimes you just have to decide on the hoof. I’d say broadly that the concensus of the above is that it’s ok to skip a week and not to sweat too much about it. In this case it’s a bit like “ask the audience” on Millionaire. The audience is usually right but occasionally they get it wrong. I rarely disagree with a decision they make even when the margins are really slight!T
Rosemary,Claudia,
Thanks for your response, I will try not to worry.
Sincerely,
Sol,
Tim,
You are so right! its the “blaming yousrelf game” I wanted to avoid, that’s why I asked the question.
Sincerely,
Sol,
Gordo,
Thanks for your response. I am very happy for you that you are BC free. keep it up.
Sincerely,
Sol,
Gina,
Reason for skipping is personal and not because I had any complications.
Sincerely,
Sol,
hi,
my dad just finished his course of bcg about three weeks ago. he had to skip one week because the refrigerator at the md’s office lost power overnight and all the meds were ruinied. i’m not sure if just the power went out or the refrigerator broke but my dad had to skip one week of bcg for this reason. the md’s office said it was not a problem to skip one week, they sometimes had people skip due to illness. my dad had a cysto and biopsy last week and all was clear, they could not find anything. hope this helps.
claudia
hi rosemary!
When I asked a local Uro “Why is it important to stay on schedule with BCG treatments?” …His answer was, “Because that’s the way the research was conducted.”
Since, as with most questions with Bladder Cancer, no one seems to be able to give us a definitive answer, I don’t think I would worry about it too much. Just stay on schedule as much as is possible with subsequent treatments, and take good care of yourself in every other way that you can.
Best regards,
RosemaryHi, Tim!!
Rosemary
Age – 55
T1 G3 – Tumor free 2 yrs 3 months
Dx January 2006
Sol
I don’t know if I’m correct or not. It’s just my opinion based on my own findings when undergoing BCG. If you do miss a week then do it feeling it’s the right thing to do. Otherwise if the BCG does fail you’ll blame yourself for delaying it. I guess it also depends on your reasons for delaying it as indicated above.tim
Hi Sol, I found myself asking the very same question during my initial 6 wk treatment for T1G3 BC, and found that skipping a treatment was no big deal to my oncologist. If memory serves me well, I believe Dr. Lamm addressed this question on his website and that as far as I can recall, it didn’t seem to be a problem. During my maintenance round of treatments, also scheduled for 6 weeks, not only did I have 3 treatment postponements, but the last 3 treatments ended up being 1/2 doses as well because I had some significant reactions to the BCG.
Sol, I have had two cysto’s now (Dec 18/07 & Apr. 1/08)and am very happy to report that both times I’ve been BC free. My personal experience suggests that taking oncovite + green tea + pomegranate juice, and lots of H20 sure didn’t hurt. I don’t know if my experience will work for you since we are all different. I wish you well with the treatments and hope your oncologist explains the various aspects of your treatment regime to you.
Take care, ;)
Gordo
sol…may i ask “why” you’ve the need to “skip” a dose?…i have to tell you…in addition to what i’ve already posted…my uro told me “ideally” we want to do all treatments on time as scheduled…BUT, that it’s not uncommon for some to have to “break” as you described…
Tim, Gina,
Thanks for your response. I hope you are all correct and this wouldn’t effect the outcome of my BCG treatments.
Sincerely,
Sol,
hi sol!
i’m definately NO expert…i’m only starting out myself…on my second bcg treatment…my doctor told me that it’s common for some to skip a week during treatment…i guess sometimes symptoms may get a bit overwhelming…hope that’s not the case with you!! take care and try not to worry too much…if your uro is comfortable with it…do your best to feel the same…take care..ginaSign In to reply.