Hello, my elderly Dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer during lockdown in 2020. Thus far he has had a number of TURBT operations, Cystoscopy procedures and on Tuesday he will have completed 9 doses of the BCG bladder instillation treatment.
At the beginning of the year, he had another very small tumour removed, but he also had some bleeding a couple of weeks ago which was not heavy and resolved after a couple of days.
We have now been told that due to the national shortages of the BCG treatment, he will not receive any further BCG treatment after his session next Tuesday. He will undergo 3 to 4 monthly monitoring. Whilst I do appreciate they have to prioritise the supply of BCG treatments that they have, I cannot help but feel that my Dad will be at greater risk of the bladder cancer returning or moving elsewhere in his body.
We recently lost my Mum to bile duct cancer, which is a brutal and aggressive cancer, and at the point Mum was diagnosed it was too late for treatment. I simply cannot lose my Dad too, and I just do not know what to do to try and achieve a better outcome for him following the withdrawal of his BCG treatment. I totally get it that there are other people who may need that treatment more than he does at this point, but it feels a bit like crossing our fingers and hoping for the best with regard to my Dad's cancer.
Am I being overly emotional as a result of what happened with my Mum? Should I trust more in the consultants decisions that monitoring will suffice?
Hello and welcome to the group. Sorry to hear about your Mum and it is understandable how you fear for your Dad. BCG is designed to help prevent recurrences. We know of the BCG shortage. Some people have had their treatment reduced or stopped. Others have been offered alternatives such as mitomycin. This is a chemo treatment rather than immunotherapy but administered in the same way. Something your Dad may ask about. If he is being monitored on a regular basis, they should pick up anything new at an early stage and be able to deal with it. I hope all goes well. Best wishes.
Hi Deloo. BCG is considered the more effective for non invasive bc and usually first line of defence. . Used to mop up any rogue cells and help prevent recurrences. BCG is an immunotherapy treatment while mitomycin is a chemotherapy treatment. In cases where BCG has not worked, some people are then offered mitomycin which works differently and can work when BCG has failed. All depends on individual circumstances. Best wishes.
