BCG Side Effects: my toughest side effect is lower back pain

Posted by jcold5619 @jcold5619, Apr 14 8:21am

I’m currently in my 5th week of BCG treatment. I’m experiencing numerous side effects, which I was expecting, and a few that I wasn’t.

Presently my toughest side effect to deal with is lower back pain. Prior to starting on the BCG treatment plan I didn’t have any issues dealing with my back.

I’m at the point now where it is almost impossible to do anything without experiencing tremendous pain.

Is this fairly common?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bladder Cancer Support Group.

vickyhay | @vickyhay | Apr 15 9:38am

My issue with this Blog is that Mayo Connect has placed Kidney and Bladder Cancer in the same group. This is so inappropriate since the two have distinct profiles and distinct treatments. For example, while BCG has been the mainstay for treating early stage bladder cancers (after the tumor has been removed) since the 1970's this is not a treatment for kidney cancer ! Why was this decision made in the first place to group the two ?

vickyhay | @vickyhay | Apr 15 9:32am

In reply to @cehunt57 "@jcold5619 welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. So sorry to hear about your back pain. What is..." + (show)

BCG stands for "Bacillus Calmette-Guerin" . It is an immunotherapy that has been the mainstay for treating Stage One bladder cancers AFTER all evidence of a cancer tumor has been removed.

vickyhay | @vickyhay | Apr 15 9:27am

While some side effects should be expected when you have your 6 week BCG induction, unusual or / and disturbing ones should be reported to your medical team. When I had my initial induction ( 6 full dose treatments over seven weeks, last Autumn I had a few but manageable one's such as fatigue and muscular aches. Next week I shall start my first maintenance BCG treatment. Three treatments at 1/3 dosage for three weeks. While some side effects are to be expected, I do not expect anything severe. Since you are having severe one's again, this should be reported to your medical team. Maybe just a matter of increasing Tylenol.

jcold5619 | @jcold5619 | Apr 15 6:58am

In reply to @cehunt57 "@jcold5619 welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. So sorry to hear about your back pain. What is..." + (show)

BCG treatment is a form of immunotherapy to treat bladder cancer.

jcold5619 | @jcold5619 | Apr 15 6:57am

In reply to @lbrockme "I'm sorry you are having such pain. Have you discussed this with your doctor or their..." + (show)

This has been throughly discussed with the doctor. Unfortunately I’m told that this is one of the many possible side effects. Not much can be done other than trying to manage the pain.

Lynne Marie | @lbrockme | Apr 14 11:33am

I'm sorry you are having such pain. Have you discussed this with your doctor or their team? Pain at that level should be something they are aware of.
Have you tried a phone call or email ?

Cheryl, Volunteer Mentor | @cehunt57 | Apr 14 11:00am

@jcold5619 welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. So sorry to hear about your back pain. What is BCG treatment? (I don’t do well with acronyms.) Could you elaborate?

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