Hello all. My name is Steve, 71 years old, and this is my first post here.
Back in July I had a single episode of haematuria. I called for a GP appointment next day and the wheels started turning very rapidly. Long story short, I was diagnosed with bladder CIS and prostate cancer (Gleason 3+4). Having both conditions requiring treatment makes it rather complicated. It was decided that I should go on hormone therapy to keep the prostate cancer in check while undergoing BCG for the bladder. I finished the induction course of BCG on Nov 20, expecting the follow-up blue light cystoscopy to be six weeks later. Instead, due to staff availability issues it didn't take place until yesterday, nearly five weeks late. The preliminary outcome (pending histology and an MDT meeting) is that it doesn't look great. Instead of one smallish patch of CIS I now have two patches, both biopsied. I'm expecting full results in 2-3 weeks.
In my chat with the consultant afterwards, she suggested that I might be offered another course of BCG as it sometimes works better second time round. Does anyone have any experience of this?
I'm now four months into the hormone therapy and getting a bit nervous about how long that will have to continue, given its long term effects on bones, muscles and heart. The other side effects I can tolerate. The trouble is, that every delay in getting the bladder sorted lengthens the time on hormone therapy.
I've been offered either prostatectomy or radiotherapy for my prostate cancer, but I feel that the likelihood of requiring bladder surgery is sufficiently high that radiotherapy is inadvisable, given that cystectomy would then entail salvage surgery, with additional risks. Obviously, if I require cystectomy, then my prostate goes along with it.
At the moment I'm very uncertain as to what happens next. While I understand that everyone's situation is different I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone whose experience is similar.
In the meantime, I hope that the extreme urgency and leakage following yesterday's rigid cystoscopy settle down soon. 50ml a time and impossible to hold on while painful to try ain't my idea of fun.
Steve75794 . Hi Steve and a warm welcome to the group. We know how difficult it can be in the limbo period waiting for results. It sounds as though there are several options for you depending on the results. Once you get your results, you will be in a better place. The urgency following a TURBT should subside as the days pass, but it is important to keep taking on plenty of water to keep debris flushed out. Best wishes
