What Do I Do If BCG Doesn’t Work? with Dr. Michael O’Donnell

In Episode 45 of Bladder Cancer Matters, host Rick Bangs talks with Dr. Michael O’Donnell, Director of Urologic Oncology at the University of Iowa. The author of over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts, Dr. O’Donnell also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Urology and CURE. He leads several national clinical trials using immune therapy to treat bladder cancer.

Rick and and Dr. O’Donnell talk about:

• Why BCG is the gold standard when treating non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
• How Dr. O’Donnell has dealt with the BCG shortage while studying the effectiveness of other intravesical treatments
• When BCG treatments fail a patient, what options they may have
• New drugs and treatments like Adstiladrin, a genetically engineered virus that produces interferon
• What patients need to know about the toxicity of non-muscle invasive treatments for bladder cancer
• What “salvage treatments” are