BCG treatment hygiene

9 years 5 months ago #47305 by rbmc
Replied by rbmc on topic BCG treatment hygiene
Hi there. And sorry about your new lifelong adventure with BC. So far you sound like a normal patient, with a plan of attack right on target. Probably a 4 week rest before BCG. I always had a urine test first to check for infections, which would prevent treatment that day. It took about 2 years before the first "cancer free" report. Hope Dec provides the 24 month all clear cysto report. Valid bombardments with BCG questions. Hope you have searched and read the topic here, lots of discussion. And you mind becomes more at ease from being terrified of creating a hazardous environment from the treatment. You'll be fine with a few simple precautionary procedures for a few hours that day. Symptoms, if any, should be more annoying than problematic. Good that you seek information, because you'll want to know more about YOU and your specific situation, not that of everyone else. Keep posting as you proceed, any talk is welcome. It may be on line, but one form of support.

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9 years 5 months ago #47252 by sara.anne
Replied by sara.anne on topic BCG treatment hygiene
Copied this from Wikipedia for you

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (historically Vaccin Bilié de Calmette et Guérin commonly referred to as Bacille de Calmette et Guérin or BCG) is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from a strain of the attenuated (virulence-reduced) live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium bovis, that has lost its virulence in humans by being specially subcultured in a culture medium, usually Middlebrook 7H9. Because the living bacilli evolve to make the best use of available nutrients, they become less well-adapted to human blood and can no longer induce disease when introduced into a human host. Still, they are similar enough to their wild ancestors to provide some degree of immunity against human tuberculosis.

Your doctor, who knows your medical history, will be able to advise you on this.

Sara Anne

Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
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9 years 5 months ago #47247 by fighterm
Replied by fighterm on topic BCG treatment hygiene
I guess for me it will be never used. I am immuno compromised. But I thought the Bcg bacteria were dead and not dangerous.

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9 years 5 months ago #47238 by sara.anne
Replied by sara.anne on topic BCG treatment hygiene
Don't worry about us "bearing with you" CareE! When I was first diagnosed I was sure that I now knew what I would die of!!! Turned out not to be true, but we are all entitled to a few bits of total panic!

What you have appears to be very treatable, and the treatment was not as bad (for me) as a trip to the dentist (I am dentist-phobic...strange since my husband was an oral surgeon)

We are here for you to sound off to!

Sara Anne

Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator

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9 years 5 months ago #47236 by CareE
Replied by CareE on topic BCG treatment hygiene
Please bear with me, I'm still trying to navigate this website..thank you for your quick reply on the bcg...I know that eliminating the cancer is top priority--with my breast cancer it was a full year of treatments and it was caught early(tumor was as small as a grain of rice!)in my mammograms--I had been taking them since I was 40 and it was noticed when I was 52! so screening and great treatments have keep me going strong! I want to fight this bladder cancer as well--so sudden and no symptoms except for a UA that had trace blood detected...you never know...thank you again for feedback...I appreciate and admire everyone who has to deal with this condition...another "bump in the road" to put it mildly...
CareE

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9 years 5 months ago #47233 by sara.anne
Replied by sara.anne on topic BCG treatment hygiene
BCG will NOT cause TB. It was produced in the 1920's initially as a safe vaccine for children. The only way a problem would arise would be if you had a compromised immune system (leukemia, AIDS) and then they would not give it to you.
Occasionally a person will have a sensitivity reaction and then BCG is discontinued and another, usually less effective treatment is used.

The thing that you should be afraid of is bladder cancer. BCG can almost cure it in about 70% of the cases. It is life-saving, and many of us are thankful for it.
It is not dangerous.

Sara Anne

Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
The following user(s) said Thank You: CareE

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