I have had two of six weekly BCG Bacillus Calmette-Guerin treatments.
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the most effective intravesical immunotherapy for treating early-stage bladder cancer. BCG is a bacterium that is related to the germ that causes tuberculosis (TB), but it does not usually cause serious disease. BCG is put directly into the bladder through a catheter. The body’s immune system cells are attracted to the bladder and activated by BCG, which in turn affects the bladder cancer cells. Treatment is usually started a few weeks after a transurethral resection of the tumor and is given once a week for 6 weeks. Sometimes long-term maintenance BCG therapy is given.
Read on below and I'll fill you in on my history and why we are at this point.
About two years ago I had some blood in my urine and was sent for a CT scan which revealed some tumors in my bladder. They were removed and the biopsy showed the lowest stage of bladder cancer. That was the the good news. The bad news is that there is a high recurrence rate for this form of cancer (60-70%). That means I get scoped three months after the resection and if the little tumors are there again I go in for surgery again. That has happened all but once when I got a six month break from this nasty routine.
The last time when I went in for the routine tests before anesthesia my EKG showed atrial fib. I had had a bout of this in 2008 but went back into normal rhythm after some medication.
The day before the scheduled surgery I went to my cardiologist who redid the EKG and luckily it was normal. He signed off on the surgery and my little tumor was removed.
When I went in for the follow up office visit mr Urologist handed me two sheets of paper telling me about the BCG treatments and recommended I do them.
He told me to think about it before I decided and sent me home. I read the information about the therapy and had read some things about it before.
Treatment with BCG can cause symptoms that feel like having the flu, such as fever, chills, and fatigue. It can also cause a burning feeling in the bladder. Rarely, BCG can spread through the body, leading to a serious infection. One sign of this can be a high fever that does not get better when you take a pain reliever (such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen). In such cases, you should see a doctor right away. These infections can be treated with the antibiotics used to treat TB.
the sheet he gave me also said:
A few deaths have been reported with BCG but the risk is low
In my mind leaving the cancer untreated is far more risky and surgery every three months is as well.
For those who do not know my background I'll repeat it again. I am a retired Physiologist/biophysicist who taught in medical schools. My research was originally in neurophysiology but blossomed into systems analysis on the computer. I spent some time working with the head of the Cancer Institute at my university as well as collaborating with another cancer researcher. My job was to do the large computer models to simulate the action of chemotherapeutic drugs and other aspects of cancer treatment.
I also taught my family doctor and my eye doctor while they were in medical school. Nevertheless I am a bad patient. My family doctor told my wife that my problem is that I know too much.
I am glad I opted for the treatments and have had no adverse effects so far. It is a drag to drive for over an hour once a week for the treatments . Holding the drug in my bladder for two hours is also a strain. After I empty my bladder at home I disinfect with bleach and wash every time I urinate for six more hours.
The big test will be in October when I get scoped again. If I am tumor free it will have been well worth it.
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