Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumors

I am going to come at this assignment not only as a fan of Eric Braeden and his iconic daytime character Victor Newman but also as the wife of a man that battled bladder cancer.  To say I have seen this up close and personal is an understatement. As a journalist, we are never supposed to come at a story using the word I but in this case there is no choice. However, there is a we as I didn’t go through this cancer journey alone. When you are married to someone who gets cancer, the battle becomes a family fight. Read on for Explaining Eric Braeden of Young and Restless Bladder Cancer Treatment.

TURBT

TURBT stands for Transurethral resection of bladder tumor.  Eric Braeden spoke of this in his video when he revealed he had bladder cancer. He kind of zipped right past it but it was the real start of his cancer journey. It was also the way the doctors were able to biopsy his cancer.  From the biopsy, they discovered that he had two different kinds of cancer cells. He revealed he had regular cancer cells and faster, stronger duplicating cancer cells. Eric’s Oncologist does not believe that the cancer has gotten into the bladder muscle. In my husband’s case it did.

BCG Immunotherapy

Because of the more aggressive cells, his oncologist elected to start him on BCG Immunotherapy. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is currently the only agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for primary therapy of carcinoma in situ of the bladder.

Bladder cancer is the only cancer in which BCG is commonly used. Other agents have been used in bladder cancer, but none has surpassed the effectiveness of BCG.

For BCG to be effective, all the following criteria should be met:

• The patient is immunocompetent
• The tumor burden is small
• BCG makes direct contact with the tumor
• The dose is adequate to incite a reaction

Studies have consistently shown that BCG treatment can eradicate this cancer in 70% of patients with CIS who meet these criteria. To prevent cancer recurrence, long-term maintenance therapy following the induction phase is typically necessary.

Typically, BCG treatment begins with an induction course (once weekly for 6 weeks). Another 6-week induction course may be administered if a repeat cystoscopy reveals tumor persistence or recurrence. Induction therapy followed by maintenance therapy (typically once weekly for 3 weeks, every 3-6 months, for 1-3 years) may provide more lasting results. Periodic bladder biopsies are usually necessary to assess response.

In Conclusion

Explaining Eric Braeden of Young and Restless Bladder Cancer Treatment

The good news is that Eric’s cancer is treatable and can be killed.  His lifestyle has changed. He will have to finish his BCG treatments and he will have to be monitored for what will be the rest of his life. My husband gets scans every six month and his cancer was muscle invasive meaning it was more advanced and dangerous than Eric’s.  We have reached the 5 year mark of cancer free for my husband. I tell you this only to help you understand that this is not or should not be fatal for our beloved Victor Newman-Eric Braeden. Ignore all the click bait articles that have him at deaths door.