BCG follow-up

Not to be the bearer of less than great news, but I had very severe inflammation from BCG last Summer, and the doc said that he believed that indicated good effectiveness. Dr. Lamm was less conclusive, and my next TURB in September, two months later, showed papillary and dysplasia, followed two months later (Nov 30) by another TURB which showed a recurrence of CIS. Like Rosemary said, it varies by individual. Hope yours is effective; the odds are heavily in your favor

Gina,

Hopefully your Urologist is correct, and an individual response to BCG would be indicative of whether or not the treatment is working. It is more my understanding about this question, that it depends on who your ask. When I had a very debilitating arthritic response to BCG (an immune system response), I E-Mailed Dr. Lamm (a trailblazer in BCG research and treatment) to ask him whether my reaction meant that the BCG was doing it's thing with bladder cancer, his reply was that it "might and it might not" be a good sign. Let's hope these reactions are a good sign, if so, I should never have to worry about bladder cancer again in my lifetime....

BTW, just a point of small correction, BCG is a virus and not a bacteria.

Keeping my fingers crossed.... :-\

Rosemary

thanks nancy! i am glad too...just hoping that the results are as "easy" to take...smiles...i understand that too...i was only sharing what my uro stated...she's one of the top in our area...well..she's with one of the best uro clinics!!...ultimately...with cancer...you just never know...i think that's the worst of all...having to wait and see...thanks for being here...gina

Hello, Gina
I am happy your BCG went well this time. I understand where Pat is coming from. Everybody reacts differently. On this forum alone, some have had reactions to BCG and the treatment did not work - others have had no reaction and the BCG worked. I guess it is up to our bodies to react.

pat...i went yesterday for my second bcg treatment...when i told the doctor what my "symptoms" were from the first....her reply, "hate to say it, but that's a good thing"...i questioned her afterwards and she said that those with less of a reaction tend not to get as good results!...when you think about it...the bcg is a bacteria and if you don't get some kind of a response...then the immune system won't have any reason to "kick in", hence the bcg is not doing it's job!...makes sense to me!...i didn't have a hard time yesterday with my "reactions"...they were very "subtle", unlike the first time. gina

Craig...thats just not true that if your reaction is to subtle that the BCG is not doing its job. Also... Its been proven that a subsequent lower dose is just as effective as full dosagage after the initial course of BCG.
Pat