I'm not sure if this is the place to ask but...

BitsKD13 · January 2011

I was wondering if you ladies know anything that could help me. Please bear with me this is a bit long.

DH and I have been TTC since the summer. Not to the point of tracking every detail about my body, but having lots of naked fun. However, our fun has come to a halt. After a biopsy in the begining of December my DH was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Luckly it was caught early, can be treated, but will be a life time of testing to be sure it's gone.

The Tx is BCG into the bladder 1/week for 6 weeks. Another biopsy 3-4 weeks after, three more weeks of Tx and then, depending on the results Tx once every three or four months... for at least two years. And since BCG has bovine tuberculosis we must use condoms since he can pass the BCG to me.

So my question for you all is have any of you, or do you know anyone who has undergone BCG treatment? DH is the youngest patient his uro has treated for bladder cancer so he doesn't really know how long we have to wait to get back to TTC. And most of the sites and boards I've been on only give a six week wait post Tx (but only the main nothing about the second or follow up ones). None of them seem to have any info related to tx and TTC. We are feeling so frustrated by all of this.

MTooms · January 2011

Ask your OBGYN, and if she is not sure, make an appt with an RE. RE are the real experts in fertility issues (male and female), so they might be able to help you out.

BitsKD13 · January 2011

Thanks Mtooms! I'll give my OBGYN's office a buzz in the morning.

bandwife928 · January 2011

A good friend of mine was diagnosed this fall with a different kind of cancer. His oncologist automatically referred him and his wife to an RE to discuss all possible implications of his cancer because they had not started trying to have a baby and hadn't planned on it for a few more years. I thought that was the best possible thing for the doctor to do. It really put them at ease about all of their options.

mrsarjiltobe · January 2011

He should probably have some of his sperm saved, and cryopreserved. I know of others who have had cancer and were told to give a specimen for preservation because there are no guarantees that there will be any viable sperm after treatments. This would probably be a good back up plan. Better to be safe than sorry.

andrea817 · January 2011

I really have no experience w/ sperm preservation although I do know someone who had leukemia when he was younger & he did this. I just wanted to wish you & DH luck w/ the treatments. My dad has this same type of cancer - diagnosed in 2007 - and did same treatments as you wrote that your DH will do. He has done really well w/ it & now only has to go once a year for his checkup. I'm hoping the same for your DH

BitsKD13 · January 2011

Thanks for all the advice ladies. We did look at cryopreservation but between the cost, and the fact that there is no chemo or radiation involved in DH's treatment, we opted not to. We also only had the from Dec 18th till January 3 to look at our options. And while it seems like a lot of time adding Christmas, New Years and him working every day in between the two just overwhelmed us.

So he is one tx down- five more to go this round. And the biopsy will be in the middle of the six week clear out, during which condoms are still required. So that's not so bad. But I will talk to my OBGYN to see what she thinks about what is going on.

And Andrea817 thanks for telling me about your dad. I know my hubby will be fine but it's good to hear others have done well and that with any luck it won't feel like I'm living at the uro's office.

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