How lucky can a gal with BC be?

12 years 2 months ago #40687 by annie
Replied by annie on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Many thanks for the responses. I think I will keep taking my probiotics and D3. I know that I have read that there are certain foods and beverages that will irritate the bladder so I need to be conscience of that as well. I have moderate diverticulosis and I think I read somewhere that this condition plus bladder cancer is a bad combo so I think another colonoscopy is in order. One thing I am curious about is how does one tell the difference between an infection in the bladder and the pain felt during the healing process? I feel like I can't empty my bladder and at the very end of the void it is pretty uncomfortable. I feel urgency pretty much at all times but I'm timing myself to go every hour or so (except at bedtime). There seems to be a fine line between substantial discomfort that I can deal with and out and out pain. Can anyone speak to this issue???
thanks
Annie

T1
N0
M0

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12 years 2 months ago #40685 by Markq
Replied by Markq on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Congratulations, It's always nice to hear good news.

Regarding supplements, I take #2 PB8's a day (a probiotic supplement). It's supposed to help with your digestion and boost you're immune system. I've seen a study or two that suggests lactobacillus casei may help prevent reocurrences of bladder cancer. As to whether it works or not who knows, but I did just pass the 1 year mark with no reocurrences.

I personally don't take any vitamins, but being a pharmacist I was curious about the differences so I did a quick comparison of Oncovite and Bladder 2.2 ingredients. They're similar in some reguards. Oncovite has more vitamin A (too much maybe) if taken in the #4 caps per day dose and no selenium. If I used this I'd probably only take #2 a day for a cost of about $0.50/day.

Bladder 2.2 has the Selenium, less vitamin A and more Vitamin D if taken in the suggested #2 caps per day. At $1/day it seems kind of expensive for a vitamin.

As to whether these differences are significant or not is debatable. If price weren't a consideration I'd probably take Bladder 2.2 over Oncovite. Once again, who knows if either is superior to a plain multivit with mineral tab. Like others have said if you can afford it probably won't hurt and may help. I'd be a little leary about taking #4 Oncovites per day due to the high vitamin A content. High doses of vitamin A can cause liver problems as well as other issues in some people.

47 yo, Ta G3
Diagnosed 11-24-10
BCG induction starting 12/17/10 followed by BCG maintance.

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12 years 2 months ago #40684 by CatherineH
Replied by CatherineH on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Hello Annie... So glad to read your good news!

This is just my two cents worth on the supplement. I had never heard of Bladder 2.2, so I looked it up. Obviously they are reputable. Looking at the ingredient list, I don't see anything that would support the claim "forumlated to support a healthy bladder lining." I also see that it has fillers to bind the tablet together. This is something that I would not be interested in using, and I am always suspicious when the name of a product targets a particular disease in that they pander to a group of people who may be desperate to find that miracle pill, and at over $100 for 3 months. And, I also suspect that they offer a physician referral discount because the doctor gets a "referral fee". But that may just be my conspiracy-theory mind talking. lol

I do take a multivitamin (Essential-1), along with omega-3 and Co-Q10 supplements, but not because I had BC. I use products from Andrew Lessman (ProCaps Laboratories in Nevada) who uses zero fillers in his products and they are a fine powder in a gel capsule so they are immediately available shortly after swallowing, unlike a hard tablet. The products are also available on Home Shopping Network if you want to compare ingredients which look to be similar.

There are a lot of supplements out there so it is a very personal decision as to which products to use. Researching to find a product you trust is the most important part of that decision.

Continued good health to you!

Best wishes... Catherine

TURBT 1/21/10 at age 55
Dx: T2aN0M0 Primary Bladder Adenocarcinoma
Partial Cystectomy 2/25/10
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Nashville, TN

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12 years 2 months ago #40683 by pemquid
Replied by pemquid on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Annie--

I'm very glad to hear your good news. Best wishes for continued good results in the future, and good luck with the BCG. I've recently completed the full course of BCG treatments, and have posted here about it. If you want to contact me via private message, please don't hesitate to do so.

I've been taking Oncovite for a couple of years, but not in the high doses sometimes suggested. I generally only take one per day. I was a bit leery of taking larger doses of it in light of literature on the potential side effects of "mega" doses of some vitamins. I just consider it as a "souped-up" version of a multivitamin, and figure it can't hurt and might help. I've been purchasing ot online at reasonable cost from drugstore.com as it wasn't available at local pharmacies in my area.

Ann

P.S. I'm called Annie by a few people. Ann and Annie aren't common names these days, but when I was in kindergarten (back in the dark ages!) there were four of us named Ann in my class of about 25 kids.

Small TA Grade 1, May-06; recur (2 tiny), same, June-08; TURBTs both times. BCG begun July-08, dosage to 1/3rd May-10, completed treatment December-11. All clear since 2008.

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12 years 2 months ago #40660 by upnorth
Replied by upnorth on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Yea Annie! I like good news like this.

Age 55
Diagnosed BC 12/20/2011 Ta No Mo 0a Non-Invasive At age 48
"Please don't cry because it is over..... Smile because it happened!" {Dr. Seuss} :)

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12 years 2 months ago #40655 by DougG
Replied by DougG on topic How lucky can a gal with BC be?
Annie,

Congratulations on your good pathology report! Doug has been taking Bladder 2.2 for 10 years. It is kind of expensive, but like Sara Anne said, this is a reputable company. I think if you can afford it, go for it.

Anita

Anita
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Caregiver

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