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My first post in this section (previous in introduce myself), I will be starting my BCG treatment the week after next in my local hospital in Hervey Bay Queensland, yes for those that don’t know I am from Australia (born in England) and have found this club that no-one wants to be in a great source of info and help in my BC journey. I will be the first to receive BCG in our new Oncology clinic and if the local news team turn up to film me with my pants down then good for them, I started my BC journey early this year when I had a High Grade tumor and some CIS removed and had my last Cysto end of May which gave the all clear apart from scar tissue but as the previous tumor was high grade the Urology team thought BCG was appropriate. Nervous does not come near how I feel and having read a lot of post’s from you guy’s I am not alone and I thank you all for that, I had to cancel my holiday to Canada because of the BC but I will be there next year. Family and friends have rallied around and I have love in spades but I feel so alone, BC will not get the better of me so stay tuned.
PaulHi Paul
You are not alone with this journey in your life. Many of us have experienced what you are about to begin. I was diagnosed in 2005 with low/med grade and also had BCG treatments. I did have a couple of very small low grade recurrences during my treatments but after 3 full round of treatments and 12 maintenance treatments I have been all clear since 2007. BCG is the gold standard for non-muscle invasive high grade and CIS, usually to be followed by 3 years of BCG maintenance treatments if there are no recurrences.
The treatments are not painful and it only takes a few minutes for each treatment. You will be asked not to void for up to 2 hours after the treatment. Then drink plenty of water for 6 hours to disperse the BCG. You will get some burning while urinating for a few hours and urgency to urinate. For me I stayed close to our washroom during the 6 hours to insure no accidents. No one else should use the washroom during this period for safety precautions. Other side effects which usually do not occur until the 3rd or 4th treatment are spasms, fatigue, and more frequent visits to the toilet. Side effects do widely vary by patient.
The clinic will give you instructions on what you should be doing during the 6 hours following each treatment.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to post here, as we have hundreds of survivors who have had BCG treatments.
Good luck,
BCG = Bladder Cancer Gone
JackHello Paul
BCG treatments are the last thing you should be afraid of. I have a friend down there that has explained the size of spiders and snakes you guys have down there!
I guess you can call me an “old pro” with BCG treatments. This week is #27. Two full rounds and working on round #7 of maintenance treatments. One year after diagnosis had a recurrence. Went CIS. Doctor’s words “yes, this is a setback but not to worry.” I didn’t listen. In the end, he was right. Have been all clear since that surgery plus a follow-up TURBT to remove tumor that was missed (different uro did surgery and it showed). My regular uro is really, really experienced with BC and I think this makes all the difference in the world.
Anyway, BCG is your best friend right now and will be that for a few years. Faithful, loyal, doesn’t talk back and doesn’t eat all the chocolate cake on you. Is a little attention demanding, though, but still manageable!
In regards to BCG treatments, one item I found in my research and the chemo unit staff confirmed: do not drink liquids for at least 2 hours but preferably 4 hours before treatment. Fluids will dilute the BCG and it won’t work as well. Also be sure of the following during the procedure: the bladder is drained by catheter before the instillation; the nurse doesn’t mix the BCG until right before instillation. My nurses mix it while the bladder is draining. Once mixed, the BCG is only alive for two hours. The BCG should be slowly instilled otherwise the temperature difference between your bladder and the room temperature BCG can cause the bladder to go into spasms. Nothing critical but you sure feel like you want to pee! I emphasize these things because I had an inexperienced nurse do two of my first round of BCG and being I was new at it, I didn’t know she was doing things wrong. She mixed the BCG first thing in the morning for my 10:00 appointment. BCG was dead by treatment time.
Yes, I will once again get off my soap box!
Anyway, best of luck Paul and I am sure you have bucket loads of that!
Take care and remember to breathe
CherylHi Paul, welcome to the forum, but sorry for why you find yourself here. I’m now 3 and a half years into bladder cancer and still kicking. I have other cancers that are not related, but that’s another story. BCG does work as you will note from the other forum members, but of course, not fun, but manageable. Good luck with it and come on here anytime to let us know how you’re doing.
Take care.
LorraineThanks every one for the welcome and info, I have my first interview this coming Thursday 7-7 with the local Urologist so I am heading in the right direction. Will keep you up to date next week when the treatment starts, so it’s another step forward in the BC journey and I am ready.
Regards
Paul DHi there Paul, I’m assuming that you would have had your first BCG treatment yesterday and I’m just checking in with you to ask how it went. Hopefully, you’re okay with it and all went well. If you did have any issues, have patience, they will clear up shortly. If they don’t, call your urologist or a member of the treatment team.
Lorraine
Yes thanks Lorraine and every one I had my first BCG today at the new Cancer Care Centre in my local hospital of Hervey Bay QLD, I was treated very well and all the staff are very professional. My nurse talked me through the start even though it was some time since she had carried the procedure out but I had no issues at all and my biggest fear of not holding the BCG in for 2 hours was never a problem, I even had a visit by the hospital Chaplain who walked in when I was turning over to lie on my stomach so she had a flash of my rear end (yes a female chaplain) which had the surgical pants on, I am not a god person but we had a good old chat and look forward to her visit next week, I was walking the dog on our local beach 20 minutes after getting home so no issues so far and 7 hours or so after all is good. If the next five weeks are like today I will be very happy but time will tell, thanks again to all you guy’s who have given me support and hope your journey’s are smooth.
Love to all
PaulHi Paul, that’s great to hear that all went well for you on your first BCG treatment. Even sounds like you had a few chuckles during the experience. LOL I’m sure yours isn’t the first butt she saw during some of her travels. Lets hope your future treatments go as well. I’ll be looking for more reports from you on this journey with BCG treatments. Good luck with it.
Lorraine
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