Bladder cancer awareness month

Bladder Cancer. Two words that deliver a devastating impact. Every year, over 570,000 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer and 1.7m people find themselves living with the condition. It is the 10^th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 13^th cause of death from cancer globally. But, a timely diagnosis offers a significant increase in the chance of long-term survival and quality of life. Blood in the urine is the most important warning sign of bladder cancer to watch out for.

Yet bladder cancer is the forgotten cancer, and it should not be. We need to unite and raise our voices for people affected by bladder cancer. World Bladder Cancer Awareness month in May 2023 is a chance for us to do exactly that!

Explore the impact of bladder cancer in different countries in an interactive global map by visiting the Bladder Cancer Digital World Tour. 

About 2023 theme

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

What you need to know:

• 4 BCAM Grants worth €500 each are available (financial and/or in-kind support)
• 15 March – Deadline to submit your application
• 1 April – We will inform you of our decision
• 1 May – Your activities should start during the awareness month and not later than this date.
• 1 July – Deadline to submit an impact report

Today, bladder cancer awareness remains low across the world, including in low and middle-income countries. Our ambition is to support awareness campaigns by offsetting some of the costs of these activities.

Last year in May, we awarded the grant to advocates in India, South Africa, and Albania. They have made great efforts to bring awareness to bladder cancer in their communities in May. Learn more about their initiatives here.

Thank you to all the people that have submitted their applications. The submissions are now closed. 

The awareness month hero video reached over 600,000 people globally and our activities on our social media channels alone, reached over 4 million people.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated – our coalition members, our partners and our supporters from all over the globe, who joined us and helped us spread the word.

Download our Bladder Cancer Awareness Month report and learn more about our 2022 campaign, its results and the wonderful global participation.