Chemo w/ Radiation after a Chemo only Clinical Trial

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jcmurphy74
jcmurphy74 Member Posts: 1
in Bladder Cancer #1

My father (71) has stage II high grade bladder cancer invasive into the muscle wall but it has not spread beyond the bladder.

He (my father) said that he would literally rather die than have his bladder/prostate/lymph nodes removed.

We are at the point now where we want to try a clinical trial involving Opdivo (nivolumab), but the concern is that based on what we have been reading, it seems that if the Opdivo/chemo fails then there is no way to try radiation w/ combined chemo later on, and the only other alternative then is to go with surgery removing bladder/prostate/lymph nodes?

Is this correct?

My question is: Can chemo w/ radiation be attempted some months AFTER a cinical trial failure with Opdivo?

Thanks for any help!

 

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  • barehead
    barehead Member Posts: 37 Member
    #2
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    I would suggest that you join the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network site (bcan.org), and research this topic. You can also join inspire.com and present your question there in the bladder cancer community.

    Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to your question, but I hope the above helps.  Each person's treatment decision is their personal decision.  I am 68 years old, and chose bladder removal. My T1/HG/CIS did not respond to immunotherapy, and was aggressively growing. I was in the hospital for 4 nights, and I was about 80% recovered after 4 weeks.  I then had to do 12 weeks of chemo since my cancer had progressed to T2 in one spot.  It was not fun, but I am here today and enjoying my spouse, grandkids, and retirement in general.  Your father can also speak with other cancer survivors if he desires, to get their take on their journey. This is available through, BCAN, Immerman Angels, and other organizations.

  • bzuke3858
    bzuke3858 Member Posts: 1
    #3
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    Bladder Cancer Treatment

    Hi.  I was diagnosed with small-cell bladder cancer in January 2021 and had the bladder/prostate/lymph nodes removal surgery just about a month ago.  My cancer was also confined to the muscle of the bladder.  I chose to go forward with the surgery because the small-cell component of the cancer is very aggressive and there was a high probability it would return.  That being said, post-surgery biopsies showed that there was no cancer in my bladder or any of the surrounding tissue. Essentially, the chemo cured the cancer.  I had a combination of cisplatin and etoposide which I understand is a very potent chemo treatment.  The doctor said because I was otherwise a healthy 65 year old, I could handle the chemo.

    My point is that chemo was successful in treating my cancer mainly due to the fact that it was contained within the bladder.  

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