Hi,
I had a CTSCAN in February that uncovered a 3mm tumor in my bladder. A TURBT procedure was conducted on 2/17/21 to take it out (and 3 other smaller tumors they discovered when they were in there). Initial indications were that it was T1, non-invasive, High grade. Some of the pathology report was inconclusive so they did another procedure on 3/16/21 - a biopsy to verify that it had not penetrated muscle or the lamina proria. Thankfully, it had not and no other cancer cells were found. They recommended 6 BCG treatments which I began on 4/20/21. I had my 2nd treatment yesterday. So far I have had minimal side effects.
My question has to do with treatments after the 6 initial BCG treatments. In almost everything I have read online, everyone does extensive maintenance BCG treatments which seem to go on for quite a few months, sometime years. My doctor has mentioned this but is recommending we stop after the initial 6 treatments and just monitor with cystoscopies. His logic is that if the tumors come back, he can still use further BCG treatments as a next step, whereas if we do all the maintenance BCG treatments and the tumors come back, then the only recourse would probably be to remove the bladder.
Has anyone just done the 6 BCG treatments and stopped? Did the tumors come back? What was your experience after that? Any recommendations or sharing would truly be appreciated. Also - my doctor is great, Harvard educated, associated with one of the best hospitals in Boston and I definitely have confidence in him. And we still have to have further discussions on the treatment options. I'm just reaching out to see what types of experiences others have had with this type of treatment plan. Thank you, John
