BCG Treatment

8 years 3 months ago #50079 by lotech35
Replied by lotech35 on topic BCG Treatment
Hi

I was told to hold it for at least an hour but if you can 2 hrs is better. Also to rotate my body to coat the bladder the same way a glass of milk would as you moved the glass around. Coating the bladder is the key. Im also taking a urinary analgesic that turns your urine orange, cant remember the name off hand but it helps if you have burning. Other than going to the potty a lot because of the amount if water im drinking so far not bad at all.

I'm 52 yr old male, type 2 diabetes controled. Hope your doing better!

Diagnosed Sept 2015 noninvasive
1st turbt Oct 3 2015, 2nd turbt Nov 13 bladder,
Completed 6 BCG initial treatments 01/11/16 02/09/16 No Cancer!
08/09/16 Cyto shows red spots on bladder, TURBT prostate scheduled
09/12/16 Cancer is back Ta prostate ,T1 high grade bladder papillary uthelial.
Cancer has invaded muscle getting RC.

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8 years 3 months ago #50022 by Jay
Replied by Jay on topic BCG Treatment
I'm no doctor, but in my own words the BCG live bacteria disrupts, chews up, irritates, etc., inside your bladder and sparks your immune system to kill off the cancer cells that might be present and anything else. The bladder needs the 4 week time to heal and sort of get back to normal so the doctor can see anything abnormal. Sometimes after a BCG treatment I'll have more or less pain, more or less debris and the same with blood, etc. In 4 weeks I have lab work done as the cystoscopy is considered an operation and the lab work is standard procedure. Then the cystoscopy is the following week. The doctor will, at least my doctor also takes a few biopsies for checking. And they usually state in the report that some spots inside the bladder are consistent with BCG treatments. Jay

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8 years 3 months ago #50020 by Wichobel
Replied by Wichobel on topic BCG Treatment
Hello hope you don't have too much uncomfortable symptoms and enjoying your chicken soup.why do you have to wait 5 weeks, I think the next check will be each 4 months. Please let me know.

Diagnosed 01/13/2015. T1G3
1rst turb
2nd turb 02 /2015
6 BCG
Now 15 BCG. NED. Waiting

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8 years 3 months ago #50015 by Jay
Replied by Jay on topic BCG Treatment
Hello again:

Just this morning I finished my second 3 week BCG Maintenance. Okay, it does get a bit more intense from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd week. I cut off water at 9pm the night before and just took a little sip with some pills in the morning. I also switched up my 15 minute turns. I remember 4 months ago, ending on my stomach was just awful, I'm just not a stomach lying person and I think the pressure at the last 15 minutes was hindering the treatment. This time I went back to stomach and side to side. All three times it made it easier towards the end, although this last week was a sprint to the finish. Even though I was on my side, it was a tough fight since I really want to last 2 hours and don't want to cut down on the dosage of BCG. And, I've always been a firm believer that chicken soup cures all, well, I think it eases the burning pain a little for the several hours afterwards. Now its just the 5 weeks to wait before my Cysto. Take care, Jay

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8 years 6 months ago #49215 by ustabee
Replied by ustabee on topic BCG Treatment
Thanks Flamenco. Your caution concerning dehydration is well taken. As a south Florida resident
that's always on my mind, particularly since I play golf year-round. I may have an advantage over most people...I'm retired...so I'm resting in my nice cool home before I do my BCG thing and my body is not going to be damaged if I do without water for an extra 16 hours. (I don't drink when I sleep). I guess I gave the wrong impression when I said I was "dehydrating " myself. My reduction of fluid intake never passed into that condition. For those who are concerned about possible dehydration, there are numerous symptoms...just check out WEB MD or Google it.

I assume that my problem with urgency and retention is the exception rather then the rule so most people don't have to worry about taking a BCG treatment and stopping my fluid intake is not an issue. The issue for me is that I had "high grade" cancer. BCG has been recognized as the best treatment to prevent recurrence if taken properly and holding it 30-40 minutes is probably not going to do it for me.


The Cleveland Clinic has a website called Chemocare.com. Their information concerning the use of BCG can be found on the URL: chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/bcg.aspx

Their advice about liquid intake follows:
Self-care tips:
Limit fluid intake for 6-10 hrs before treatment and for 2 hours following installation of BCG, afterward resume normal fluid intake.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol on treatment days. This is due to the diuretic and irritant properties of these substances.
Get plenty of rest.
Maintain good nutrition.

Note how long (up to 14 hours) they keep you off fluids. Perhaps the purpose is not to dilute the
BCG fluid for as long as possible.

I'm still hoping to hear from anyone who has had retention problems which have been successfully addressed.
Ustabee (Marty)

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8 years 6 months ago #49209 by Flamenco.
Replied by Flamenco. on topic BCG Treatment
Ok gonna throw in my twopennyworth -As Cynthia pointed out, there may be unwanted consequences of withholding wáter intake for a prolonged period of time .- 24 hours being way too long, unless it is absolutely essential. Dehydration has huge effects on the body,not just on urine production - electrolyte levels, blood pressure etc etc.You said that your body will seek out wáter to increase output - but that would not be beneficial if your organs and blood are depleted, increasing risk of things like strokes.
Given the extremely small dose of bcg that is introduced into the bladder, it would be unrealistic to imagine that even if you did acrobatics it would reach completely the whole surface of the bladder- diluted in a moderate amount of urine there is more chance that it might.
One thing that I found actually seemed to help was to NOT have the treatment first thing in the morning.Your body produces a hormone which reduces urine output during sleep, but on awakening starts to reléase another hormone to increase production.Morning treatment equalled difficulty holding on long enough. Afternoon ok.

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