I am almost at the end of my 6 week (5th tomorrow) BCG Induction course for NMIBC. My hope, although I am fully aware there is a 30% chance immunotherapy will not have worked for me, is that these initial sessions of BCG will have been successful. However, in the awareness of knowing that BCG does not work for everyone my thoughts have taken me back to the initial conversation (immediately on being wheeled out of Theatre after first TURBT where my bladder got perforated. Second successful TURBT two weeks later) Consultant had with me. To my relief he told me I would not be getting my bladder taken out. That the treatment I would be getting would be Immunotherapy, radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. When I mentioned this, along with my NMIBC diagnoses, to a co-bladder cancer patient, I was told it was very unusual to get Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy for NMIBC. That comment stayed with me and puzzled me until now. Although the Consultant did not add that Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy would only apply to me (as I was not a candidate for bladder removal) if BCG failed, he was obviously covering all the treatments that would and could apply.
Now, after that long story here is the reason I have posted. My question: has anyone on this forum, whilst retaining their bladder, been through radiotherapy and chemotherapy due to MIBC. Is radiotherapy treatment ongoing (daily) for up to seven weeks and, are the side effects of both the radiotherapy and combination of chemotherapy, manageable or #**%?**#.
ps. grammar etc., not checked for this posting. Apologies.
Hi Kenzie . I had 6 weeks of chemo (Gem/Cis) followed by 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy along with further chemo for MIBC . I tolerated it all fairly well with only some fatigue and erratic bowels for a while after treatment finished. As far as I am aware though chemoradiation is not used for NIBC. Best wishes.
