Understanding Bladder Cancer: new factsheet available

We are delighted to launch the new Bladder Cancer Factsheet titled “What is Bladder Cancer?” which is the first of our series of Factsheets we are developing. This resource is designed to help patients, caregivers, and the general public understand bladder cancer, its types, and available treatments.

The factsheet is intended as a decision-aid tool to help patients newly diagnosed with bladder cancer to have a conversation with their treating doctor. We encourage doctors to download this resource and use it as a supplementary resource when having conversations with patients and their families.

The factsheet is intended for use with the advice of your healthcare professionals. These decision aids do not support any particular course of treatment over another. The use of these factsheets as decision-aid tools is voluntary.

Our bladder cancer factsheet is also a valuable tool for advocacy and awareness. Bladder cancer is a disease that starts in the bladder, and it is crucial for everyone to understand how it develops and spreads. Our factsheet explains that bladder cancer typically begins in the lining of the bladder and outlines the two main types: non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

We have outlined the patient pathway, covering the stages from awareness and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare. This overview helps those affected by bladder cancer navigate their journey. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, in-bladder treatments like BCG therapy, and whole-body treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Bladder cancer awareness remains low, with many patients hearing about the disease for the first time at diagnosis. It is vital for both men and women to recognise the signs and symptoms and understand their risks. This resource is a great tool for spreading knowledge and continuing the conversation about bladder cancer.

We invite you to download, use and share our factsheet within your community, whether online or offline. This easy-to-print factsheet can be used by doctors to print on demand or in advance to use as a supportive decision-aid tool when speaking with people newly diagnosed with bladder cancer.

For questions or suggestions, please contact us at info@worldbladdercancer.org

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Medical, Nurse & Scientific Advisory Panel of Fight Bladder Cancer for their invaluable contributions to this factsheet. A special thank you to Mr. Venkata Ramana Murthy Kusuma and Kathleen MacKenzie for their outstanding support and expertise.