Question on BCG treatments

[Farm Boy]

My doctors assistant called me today here in Ottawa. It’s been a long two weeks since the surgery waiting for results.

She says the report shows it is hi-grade, but superficial.

I believe this sounds like a good thing as compared to it being invasive and further surgery.

Now on to scheduling the BCG treatments for 6 weeks and then another cystoscopy 6 weeks after that.

Question for the forum: Is it possible to get local anesthesia (frozen from the waste down) for the catheter for the BCG treatments?

I am still suffering some penile pain a week after my catheter from the operation was removed. Unfortunately, it had been accidentally removed in the hospital by the nurse who didn’t read the doctors orders, and so it had to be painfully re-inserted.

[Greg]

Farm Boy:
Always a good idea to get a copy of your pathology report from your doctor. Then you can see exactly what is diagnosed. High grade means it is aggressive, but superficial really does not tell you enough since that could mean CIS or stage 1, etc. More beneficial is the NMIBC (non muscle invasive bladder cancer) which it appears is what you have as opposed to MIBC which is the muscle invasive stages.

BCG treatments are generally considered fairly minor procedures (from the viewpoint of the administrator rather than the patient!) and I doubt they would corral someone to administer it. Never hurts to ask, but don’t get your hopes too high. Certainly the numbing gel should be inserted generously and allowed a couple of minutes to actually numb the area. You might ask the nurse for a thinner catheter as they do come in different sizes and the thinner ones are more easily passed. Some nurses do not seem to use the numbing gel (I’ve experienced those), but it is much easier when it is used.

All the best.
Greg

[marysue]

Let the nurses know ahead of time what you have been through and that you require extra gel anesestic. What I did/do for BCG and the cystos is ask the nurses to instill it very slowly to give it time to go down the urethra. I don’t know if guys experience this but since the female urethra is very short I found if the nurses go in there swiftly and inject the gel like they’re firing a water pistol a lot of it backs up and just comes out. The urethra doesn’t get frozen properly and then of course you feel it. Surgery and BCG irritate the urethra so it is necessary to have the freezing to be able to tolerate future treatments. Make sure that the nurse is aware of this and don’t be afraid to make a fuss if they seem stubborn about giving you any extra anesetic. A threat to report them for patient abuse is all that it takes. I unfortunately had to take that tact with a couple of them. Hopefully you won’t have to. It is their job to make sure that the patient gets through their medical treatment in the best way possible so you have every right to complain if they don’t provide you with that service.

To be frozen from the waste down requires an epidural anesetic and will require administration in a surgical suite and time for the freezing to wear off. Trust me, you don’t want to go through that every week for six weeks. If you have a lot of pain after the BCG and it takes it’s sweet time to wear off you could talk to your doc and see if there are any prescription pain killers that will help or ask about spacing your BCG treatments maybe to every two weeks instead of every week.

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