Non invasive bladder cancer grade 3

Hi My Boy,

Sorry to hear that your son is struggling with BCG.

The amount of treatments depends on the Hospital Trusts, although the usual protocol is 27 Instillations which takes around three year's.

After the 12th instillation the gab inbetween increases to 6 Months, it did for me.

It is hard going and unfortunately the side effects can get worse the more treatment go om.

I've had 18 and my last check up showed chronic inflammation, so my next batch is being delayed.

I can only suggest drinking lots of water and discussing with his consultant. They can reduce the dose for example, or only keep in for an hour (which I did).

Wishing you both all the best.

Trevor.

Thankyou the doctor did say 12 months of bcg treatment but when he had treatment last week the nurse told him it could be possibly another 2-3 years because of it being high grade he’s got a flexi camera booked in October so perhaps we will find out how long he will have to have treatment then . He drinks loads of water but is still finding it hard to pass urine . Hope all goes well for you & you get to start your treatment soon again all the best 

I'm not on BCG nor male but many on the forum seem to swear by Lemon barley water to help with bladder  discomfort and ability to urinate, in case that helps.

All the best,

Latestart

I didn't have BCG, but read a great deal when I was making treatment choices. My understanding is that side effects do tend to increase with repeated doses. There is some debate about the necessity of the maintenance doses, that it is the initial 6 which are most important. So if your son is finding the treatment intolerable, that might be the time to stop. He will remain on regular check ups in case of any recurrence. Because BC is so prone to recur, checks may continue for a lifetime, but some hosp do discharge if all clear for a number of years. Any recurrence means back to the start with a biopsy to determine stage & grade and treatment recommendations. Best wishes.