BCG Treatment with Packaged Sewage system/Septic Tank

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Just about to start my next round of BCG after just moving to a new home.

Old house was connected to mains sewage, so use of copious amount bleach on BCG day was OK.

Now I have an off grid home with a packaged sewage system where I can't use normal (hypochlorite) bleach as it will kill the bugs needed to process the waste.

Anybody in the same situation, and if so, what do you use?

  • Hi  . That's an unusual position to be in. Hopefully some one may come along with a suggestion. I hope all goes well with your next round of treatment. Best wishes.

    Best wishes to All,   rily.

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  • Hello Tortoise, maybe your local water authority will be able to advise you. Good luck with the BCG treatment. Garviv

  • i think i have seen something like this on an american bladder cancer site. have you tried google ? i know its not the go to for treatment and diagnosis but it brings up other forums .  or ask macmillan ? best of luck

    Much love Angela x

  • Hi Tortoise, I have a septic tank and copious use of bleach isn't great for the biological action. I bought a plastic camping toilet and used that with added bleach for the first 6 hours of voiding. I left it to stand overnight and then emptied in the morning right at the bottom of my garden. I have an acre of land and live in a rural situation so I could empty it right away from my house, visitors and animals. Once tipped away into soil it was gone. My CNS had spoken to plenty of other folk in a similar situation and advised that the system worked fine. Hx

  • That’s a great solution. You can also use a bucket with a lid, whack in a load of bleach and empty at the end of 6 hours. Job done. Keep pets away,

  • Hi Garviv.

    Thank you for your kind reply but, unfortunately the local water authority won't be able to help with this as I am not connected to their sewage network.

    The house is completely off grid in this regard, relying on an on-property packaged (aerobic digestion) sewage treatment system. This is different from the septic tank setup which uses anaerobic digestion, but has similar issues in respect to not killing off the bugs in the system that break down the waste. Kill off the bugs and the system stops working with subsequent smells and other impacts.

    Just trying to find out what I can use on BCG day when the advice is to put bleach down the loo, which I can't do for the reasons outlined. Don't want to negatively impact my bugs .. they are enjoying life so far.

  • Hello Tortoise, oh dear but worth asking. Have you tried the MacMillan helpline or have you found a solution? Garviv

  • just wondering if the bcg nurse would ok you to stay at the hospital for the first 2 hours and void there ? its not a full solution but would lessen the amount of bcg and then Leos suggestion. it really is an unusual situation. surely the nurses have come across this before ?

    Much love Angela x

  • Thanks all.

    Staying 2 hours at hospital won't work for me ... urgency from 2ish hours post infusion, so really need to get home where this isn't an issue. As its only the 2 of us at home and we have two bathrooms, can keep everything isolated from others in the 6 hours.

    Will have a chat with MacMillan to see if they have any suggestions. Urology nurses I met this week didn't have any suggestions.

  • Since the bleach is to avoid infecting yourself and others using the same toilet, sounds as though you could manage without using it. Perhaps another pertinent question is if the BCG would have any adverse effects on the sceptic tank?

    Otherwise you may have to end up finding an overgrown corner of the garden for a pee...