Getting 2nd TUR before starting BCG

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses. I am really appreciating this forum already.

Welcome and sorry about your diagnosis. I would be inclined to follow MD Anderson's advice and I wouldn't be concerned about a slight delay in BCG treatment. High grade is something that you don't want to mess around with. You want to be sure of the stage/grade and reduce the tumor load as much as possible before BCG is given. You have to be sure of the diagnosis to be sure of the treatment plan. It sounds like you're on the right track.

In my case, I had a TURBT by a local urologist and was diagnosised with TaG3. I had my slides and records sent to Sloan Kettering and I went down for a 2nd opinion. There Dr. Dalbagni did a cystoscopy in the office. Between that and their reading of my slides they were satisfied with the grading and margins so I didn't have a 2nd TURBT and started BCG about 4 weeks after the original surgery. If MSK had suggest it I would have has a 2nd TURBT and delayed BCG.

Getting a 2nd opinion is a wise move either way. They'll either catch something missed earlier or they'll give you peace of mind that you're doing all you can to treat your cancer. I hope all goes well for you.

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere:


I was diagnosed with noninvasive but high grade april 1, 2011 after TURBT performed March 30 by highly regarded private urologist. He said the tumor had been there for "a long time." He did Mitomycin C treatment and scheduled course of 6 BCG treatments to begin April 20,2011. Two pathologists (one at major cancer center) concurred with noninvasive high grade per slides. Second opinion surgeon at MD Anderson recommends putting off the scheduled BCG treatments and going to MD Anderson week of May 24 for second TUR for restaging. I have read the MSK study on RETUR and comments on this forum that the second TUR is "gold standard" for high grade and I am inclined to follow advice of MD Anderson surgeon. Should I be concerned about delaying the BCG treatments, effectively doing nothing until the RETUR in the end of May? Should the RETUR have been suggested by my urologist even though he "aggressively" scraped more than 30% of my bladder and got margins, etc? I did note that in the MSK full article about restaging TUR the author said that getting good margins, etc on the first TUR could potentially take the place of the 2nd TUR. I am ready to go to MD Anderson if needed. I appreciate any input.
Thank you so much,
very scared and confused
camimor

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