BCG Treatment

Hello and welcome to the community. I see from your profile you were diagnosed a few months ago. Not sure how much you know about BCG treatment, but it usually starts with an initial 6 treatments. I have not personally experienced BCG as I had a different treatment, but I know people react differently to it. Some sail through it with little effect while others have more discomfort. I am sure others here will be along to share their experiences. We know how you must be feeling as many of us have been there, but be aware that bladder cancer can be treated successfully and BCG has proven to be effective. Were you given a stage and grade of your bc as this will help for anyone giving advice? Best wishes.

Hello Rily thank you for your reply and for the welcome l don’t really know much as this stage about this treatment l had some information about it but that information want straight over my head as this was explained at the same time as the diagnosis yes l was given the info regarding my cancer all that l now is it is a T3 l guess this is the size and it’s a grade 3 thank you for your reply 

Hi sparkly. T3 1 does not seem quite right. I assume it may be T1 which is very early stage. G3 is the more aggressive type of abnormal cell, but also the most common. BCG is a mild form of the vaccine used to treat Tuberculosis. It is an immunotherapy treatment which kick starts the body's own immune system in to fighting any abnormalities. Another assumption is that if you have had a TURBT to remove any abnormal cells, then a T1 diagnosis would have removed all if not of it. The BCG is to clear up any rogue cells and prevent recurrences. For a better explanation, Macmillan have produced some good information if you click HERE . Try not to Google information as there is a lot of misleading and out of date info out there. In trying to reassure you, I hope I have not given you too much information. As I said earlier, I am sure others will be along with more personal information. Best wishes

Hi rily thank you for your response l was told the following for the stage and grade.

T3 – the cancer has grown through the layer of muscles, into the surrounding layer of fat.

Grade 3  cancer cells that look abnormal and may grow or spread more aggressively.

But this is still all very confusing but thank you for your info and for the link.

kind regards.

Hi sparkly. I read your post incorrectly and sorry for confusing you. T3 rather T1 is a different matter. Have you been told you will be having BCG treatment ? Best wishes.

Hi rily no that’s okay no apology is necessary yes l have been told l will need to have this treatment over six weeks to start with and l think is going to start maybe next week or week after.

 Kind regards.

Just as a bit of reassurance, I was diagnosed with T3/G3 and went on for radiotherapy. That was six years ago and currently still clear. Again, apologies for misreading your earlier post and confusing you. Best wishes.

Hi Sparkly, I (female aged 72) am having BCG treatment which goes on over a period of three years. Starting with 6 doses and moving on to 3 maintenance doses every 3 months at first and then every 6 months from the second year. I'm now in year 3 and having doses 16-18 next week. My original tumour was T1 (Grade 2)

Ta and T1 tumours are non-muscle invasive, and you are describing your tumour as muscle-invasive which in the NHS are generally treated either with chemotherapy and radiotherapy or by removing the bladder. Like Rily I thought BCG is less frequently used for muscle invasive cancers. So I would want to ask questions about why this choice has been recommended. I'm sure there will be good reasons which your urology team can explain (we are not doctors so our knowledge is only based on experience and the knowledge acquired on our treatment journey. But we are all individuals with various health differences.)

Do you have a Clinical Nurse Specialist? I was assigned a named nurse who I could contact at anytime during working week (9am-5pm) and who has been a rock. She answers any questions I have with easy to understand explanations, and smoothes any hiccups in appointment systems etc. I know others on this site have not been so fortunate with their CNS but if you have a good one they really can be your best friend throughout the long drawn out treatment for bladder cancer. Sending best wishes, let us know how things go for you. x

Hi herothedog many thanks for your reply regarding your question to why this has been recommended this is what l was told would be the next course of action regarding my cancer.

It started with me having blood in my urine l was referred to hospital for cystoscopy and then was told l had a very large tumour in the bladder seven day later l attended hospital again for a TURBT a week later l got the results.

They sad it was a T3 (the cancer has grown through the layer of muscle into the surrounding layer of fat).

And graded it as a Grade 3 (cancer cells that look abnormal and may grow or spread more aggressive).

It was at this stage that the doctor and Macmillan nurse said l have two options,

Opinion 1 have a course of BGC Treatment which they have said would happen but if that fails option 2 would have to have my bladder and prostate removed.

After waiting 7 weeks from the first procedure l attended hospital again for a second TURBT for them to take another biopsy and they said they would go ahead with the BCG treatment.

As you stated we are not doctors but l been given some much information about my cancer and the two different treatments l am now so confused to what is going on and I am hoping what the doctors have decided is the best course of action but I just don’t know.

Kind regards.

Hi . Thank you for the clarification. This is a much clearer picture. The thing that was throwing me was the BCG. As far as I am aware, this is not generally used for muscle invasive. It is more effective on superficial tumours, but I may be wrong. The doctors know best.

My diagnosis was very similar to yours. I was T3/G3 muscle invasive. Like you, I had 2 TURBTs. I then had a 6 week course of intravenous chemotherapy (Gem/Cis). Further scans showed the growth had halted but still there. I was then offered a choice of full bladder removal or chemoradiation. As I was good candidate for radiotherapy, I chose the latter to preserve my bladder. Best wishes.