BCAM Grant 2023 – Oncoguia’s impactful bladder cancer awareness initiatives

For the second consecutive year, the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition was thrilled to offer the Bladder Cancer Awareness Month Grants (BCAM Grant) in 2023. The BCAM Grants enable patient organisations, support, or advocacy groups in low and middle-income countries to bring awareness to bladder cancer in their communities.

This year, one of our BCAM grant awardees Instituto Oncoguia organised activities in Brazil. They have made wonderful efforts to bring awareness to bladder cancer in their community in May and beyond.

Oncoguia’s objective for Bladder Cancer Awareness Month 2023 was to disseminate high-quality information about the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer. Oncoguia developed a virtual patient education campaign and established strategic partnerships with various institutions and organisations in Brazil. The key activities undertaken included:

• Launch of the campaign: “Ame Sua Bexiga” (Love your Bladder in English), designed to offer relevant and credible patient information and support to improve the quality of life for people affected by bladder cancer. The information resources ranged from symptoms and diagnosis to treatment options.
• In an extensive Bladder Cancer Information Video playlist developed in collaboration with uro-oncologist Fernando Korkes, founder of the Cabem Mais Vidas Institute, featured a total of 16 videos addressing relevant bladder cancer patient topics. These topics included the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer, diagnosis aspects, treatment options, quality of life and much more. The playlist garnered over 10,000 impressions to date.
• Organised a live talk under the theme “Bladder Cancer, we need to talk more about it.“ The event was hosted by Oncoguia’s founder and president, Luciana Holtz, in conjunction with Dr. Fernando Korkes, a distinguished uro-oncologist and founder of the Cabem Mais Vidas Institute, and Mauro Gomes, Chief of the Pneumology team at Hospital Samaritano/SP. This insightful conversation was broadcasted across Oncoguia’s social media platforms, including Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Since then, the archived event has garnered substantial engagement, amassing over 990 views, 99 likes, and 12,336 impressions across these platforms.

Oncoguia’s strategic efforts in bladder cancer awareness have been highly effective in reaching people affected by bladder cancer and other relevant audiences in Brazil. Through a combination of educational campaigns, expert collaborations, and engaging social media activities, they successfully disseminated essential bladder cancer information. The live talk event, reaching a wide audience, highlights the commitment to open dialogue on bladder cancer in Brazil. Oncoguia’s approach serves as a strong example of effective advocacy and paves way for more elaborate activities for future bladder cancer awareness months.

Learn more about Bladder Cancer Awareness Month

Explore and get inspired by more initiatives and examples in our Start-up guide for bladder cancer patient groups.