BCG: Don't believe everything you read on-line.
I just completed 6 weeks of BCG.
When I started, I was petrified. Not just because I had cancer, but because of the side effects I read about.
I'd just like to say that just because you read about bad side effects on-line, doesn't mean you will have them. I suppose that I was very lucky, but I had 6 BCG treatments and no side effects at all. After my 2nd treatment, I even asked the nurse if she was sure they were giving me the right medicine.
I received all the handouts and cautions that others write about. My first nurse, on mthe first treatment, told me "start to drink a lot of water after about 90 minutes, so when you urinate at the 2 hour mark, you won't have too much pain."
I followed that advice and did very well. After treatment number 4, I had chills, sweats and muscle cramps at night. I don't even know if it was related to the BCG or not. It cost me about 2 hours of sleep.
Doctors are always good at telling me "don't read about your disease on-line." I won't take that advice, but perhaps a grain of salt about what you read will help relieve a lot of fear for others, as it did for me.
Just sharing, hope I didn't offend anyone.
Hi
thanks so much for sharing about your experience. I know our community members appreciate hearing about personal experiences. I am so glad to hear the treatments went smoothly for you. And, you make a great point about all the information that is out there, every person's experience is unique and not all of the information is accurate. Jill, bladdercancer.net team Congratulations on your success! I guess it really just varies between patients. People are more likely to post online if they are having difficulties. My experience was the same for the first x6 treatments. The 9th and 10th treatments have been more difficult for me. Still tolerable but I have had blood tissue/clots and feel like I have the flu for the day of treatment. Wishing you continued success and clear scopes.
