This long overdue email is about my current status with formerly muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Since my last posting, I have talked to Dr. Meng and he said, “You’ve made the right choice.â€Â
He also said that BCG treatments could easily deal with the remaining carcinoma in situ.
BCG is an attenuated tuberculosis vaccine that is instilled directly in the bladder with a catheter. It causes an immune response which gets rid of the BCG and the cancer J! I’ve had two previous BCG treatments in my 17 years of living with cancer and they both were effective.
So I started BCG on July 9 at Marin Specialty Care in Greenbrae with Dr. Neuwirth who had been following me for 17+ years.
The first treatment resulted in a bladder infection which required me to take antibiotics and lose a week, but all is well now.
After the second infusion on July 23, I had this wonderful experience of knowing that the BCG was going to work and work well.
That night, I felt some side effects of the treatment. I became extremely dizzy and had trouble sleeping. As with everything in this universe, this, too has passed.
Yesterday’s treatment went very fast and I was in and out in something like 15 minutes.
Last night, however, I had a slight fever and a mild headache. Today, I’m fine. 3 down… and 3 to go… I’ll be done with cancer on August 20.
I’ve been missing your calls and emails! I trust you are all doing well.
May you all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.