Did anyone wait 3 months after CIS was taken out by TURBT to receive BCG?

2 years 3 months ago #61128 by Chadni30305
Thanks Alan. This site has so much info that I had no idea about. The CIS was confirmed after the pathology report came in, below is what the doctor uploaded in the chart. The report said No Muscularis propria present, does that mean its not muscle invasive or does it mean there were no muscle presented to look under microscope and evaluate? how did they figure no invasion without having enough sample? The doctor does not seem like he wants to give BCG at this time or do a second TURBT plus they don't have any at their clinic at the point. When asked, he did not use blue light cysto nor did he wash the bladder with a dose of chemo. He did not offer any other treatment meanwhile we wait for BCG. I am thinking about seeing an urology oncology doctor at Emory. I am so scared that there might be cancer cells left in the bladder that were not visible with white light. C word is always scary. What treatment did you have? did you have high grade CIS as well? Was it just one occurrence?


Your pathology report has returned and the biopsy did show a cancer recurrence. We did treat the entire abnormal area during the surgery so there is no visible tumor remaining. Overall it was a small.  
    Surgical Pathology Report     [Image Missing]     Pathologic DiagnosisURINARY BLADDER, BIOPSY:--High-grade urothelial carcinoma (carcinoma in situ)--No invasion seen--Chronic inflammation--No muscularis propria present            

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2 years 3 months ago - 2 years 3 months ago #61126 by Alan
Welcome Chadni,

I was surprised to see more posters talking about another BCG shortage. It has been off and on for a few years. You are smart to be checking on other sources of BCG as Atlanta is such a massive city some offices I would guess have some. I also found it interesting that your URO diagnosed CIS BEFORE your TURB/pathology report. One simply doesn't know what is going on until that path reported.

Some quick observations. First, you do need to have your bladder heal before getting BCG. Customarily that means waiting 6-8 weeks because of the burning/cutting done. So you have some time to pursue other sources of BCG which would push you out to late February early March. Second, a CT scan is often done of the torso to make sure there is nothing else happening in the urinary tract. I would have that done as that is a usual part of the diagnosis. At the same time, there is some mild concern about the radiation involved in this test. Most that monitor this board have probably had this including me. You just don't want this done very often.

As CIS is always considered high grade, 3 months probably won't make a difference but, who knows? You don't want to linger any longer than you can. If you still can't find BCG there are alternative agents. Different chemos are instilled just like BCG. Some cocktails involve heating these as part of the treatment and that is new. There are several discussions about this 6-18 months ago on some threads that you may want to visit on this website that will do better than me trying to paraphrase what was discussed. Edit added: Here is one that is good: bladdercancersupport.org/forum/8-non-invasive-superficial-bladder-cancer-questions-and-comments/47198-switch-from-bcg-to-gemcitabine-and-docetaxel.html

Keep posting as you go. We all learn from each other.

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.
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2 years 3 months ago #61124 by Chadni30305
Hi,

I was diagnosed with CIS back in December of 2021, had the TURBT surgery last week that confirmed high grade CIS. Urologist wants to do CT scan but does not have BCG due to BCG shortage and don't think will have BCG until early April. I am located in Atlanta GA, should I wait that long or look for BCG else where? Did anyone wait 3 or 4 months after TURBT to receive BCG. Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks !

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