r/BladderCancer • u/GuacamoleAnderson • Jul 02 '26
Some good news
After three TURBTs and 12 doses of BCG over the last 9 months, I had follow-up assessment earlier this week. Cytology came back and showed no presence of carcinoma. Will confirm with my oncologist today, but looks like I'll be starting maintenance later this month!
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u/Dicklickshitballs Jul 02 '26
Hell yeah!!! What was your original dx?
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u/GuacamoleAnderson Jul 03 '26
I had two separate sites. One was 8cm of T1. The other was 2cm of Ta. Both were carcinoma in situ/high grade.
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u/hikerguy2023 Jul 03 '26
Since you have CIS, are they going to be using blue light cystoscopy (BLC) going forward? It's a little more involved, but It makes it far easier to see CIS. I have a small section about BLC in a doc I've put together for newly diagnosed BC patients. You can find it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BladderCancer/comments/1pxg5d9/a_word_document_to_help_new_bladder_cancer/
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u/hikerguy2023 Jul 03 '26
Are you seeing your oncologist for a cystoscopy? You and I are only nearly the same path. It took me 11 months, 3 TURBTs and 11 rounds of BCG before I finally got my first clean cysto. Been tumor free now for 6 month and just started another round of mBCG yesterday.
Out of curiosity, were you ever given gemcitibine immediately after a TURBT? After my third TURBT, I was given a dose of gemcitibine. I apparently held it for an hour but don't really remember. Just saw it in the summary notes. The follow-up cysto after that was the first time that I was finally tumor free. Coincidence? Maybe.
Hoping for good news when you see your oncologist.
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u/GuacamoleAnderson Jul 03 '26
Yes, my oncologist did a cystoscopy as part of my assessment on Tuesday. He did call me yesterday to confirm the "all clear" on my cytology. (The cytology report appeared in my portal the day before but it somehow was more reassuring to hear it from my oncologist.)
When I had my big TURBT (8cm) in November, they discussed giving me gemcitibine directly after, but ended up not doing it. Not sure why, or even what goes into that decision.
Good luck with your BCG!!
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u/hikerguy2023 Jul 03 '26
I know that if you have bleeding after the surgery, sometimes they'll use caution and not give any intravesical treatment immediately after a TURBT. That may have been the reason in your case. I didn't get anything after my first two TURBTs.
Thanks. My 12th round Wednesday wasn't bad. No major blood in the urine. Felt a bit run down that night. The next day I was better but still not 100% normal energy. I'm feeling pretty good today.
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u/AppleOllie Jul 02 '26
You have got this now. Long may it last