Sorry to have you join our club, and sorry to hear the diagnosis. Carcinoma in situ, in the case of bladder cancer, is not necessarily good news(in breast cancer, for example, it is a pre-cancerous condition and IS good news.) CIS in bladder cancer is a form that is sort of rash-like on the bladder lining and is always considered high grade. That being said, it IS highly treatable. I was diagnosed with CIS in 2008, was treated, and have been cancer-free ever since.
The usually recommended treatment for CIS is BCG...immunotherapy wherein a modified tuberculosis bacterium is instilled into the bladder numerous times. It stimulates the immune response in the cells in the bladder lining to fight the intrusive cancer cells. It is a relatively benign treatment. It does have some side effects, which vary with each individual, but no where near what traditional chemotherapy causes. The usual treatment schedule is once a week for 6 weeks. Then, after several months off, every three months until two years have passed.
The usual side effects of BCG are fatigue, urinary urgency and discomfort for a day or so after the treatments, and sometimes other discomfort. It IS very do-able and very worth it to get rid of the CIS!! There is a LOT on BCG on this Forum, particularly under the heading "Non-Invasive Bladder Cancer."
I hope that I have not put you into information-overload! The take-away lesson, as I have mentioned, is that CIS is highly treatable.
Sara Anne
