BCG and immune system in general

You are close to USC and UCLA your lucky. Call their main switch board and tell them you are dealing with bladder cancer and need a second opinion they will get you where you need to go. Please remember people on the internet can give you all sorts of answers but there comes a time you need to switch it off and consult the real experts, a second opinion will give you a great deal of peace it will double check the direction you are doing. Let us know where you go and update us with what you find out.

Diana, I am sorry you have to be here but welcome to our community. I just wanted to reinforce something Sara Anne said. We wish we could tell you that there was a new revolutionary treatment for CIS other than clinical trials and a few other agents the treatment for CIS is a TURB (biopsy) followed by BCG. You can not simply remove it as it is not always visible. The key is timely knowledgeable treatment. I would strongly suggest that he be seen by someone at a bladder cancer center of excellence. I can tell by your posts that you have questions about what you have been told by your present doctor, if that is the case a second opinion is important. Please let us know what state you are in and we will give you suggestions if you like.
Good luck and keep us updated.

Diana, I thought that we had explained that the TURB is primarily a diagnostic procedure. While some small tumors of the papillary type can be removed, the purpose of the TURB is to provide samples of the bladder so that an exact diagnosis can be made. CIS is a bit like a rash on the surface of the bladder. Unless samples are analyzed by the pathology lab the urologist cannot tell if it is even cancer instead of another type of inflammation.

If the pathology report indicates that the situation is indeed CIS or another high grade cancer then BCG is the current standard for treatment. If it is NOT CIS or high grade BCG would not be indicated.

There is nothing new in this. The usual sequence is that the urologist does cystoscopy and sees that there is apparently something abnormal. He then does a TURB under general anesthesia and cuts out small samples for analysis. Only after a review of the pathology report will he really know a. Is it cancer? b. Is it CIS or high grade? c. Is it still noninvasive? Often there are still questions and a second TURB is necessary before a treatment plan is determined.

If the diagnosis is Cis and it is noninvasive then BCG is the treatment of choice.

The above describes what would be done by any competent urologist. This is what was done for me ten years ago.

I hope this clarifies the situation for you.

Sara Anne