International Women’s Day – how do we #BreakTheBias?

The theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) this year is #BreakTheBias –  the start of a gender-equal world. This theme calls for a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; one that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive where women can move ahead.

This is an opportunity to stand and advocate for breaking the existing biases and disadvantages that women affected by bladder cancer face today around the world. Although bladder cancer is often considered a disease of men of older age, bladder cancer also affects women. Around 1 in 4 cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed in women with over 130,000 women diagnosed with bladder cancer every year[1]. These women face many challenges when it comes to their care:

• Women suffer a worse prognosis than men at almost every stage of the disease[2]
• Women are more likely to require three or more pre-referral consultations with a general practitioner[3]
• Women experience longer time intervals between presentation and hospital referral.^[3]

Raising awareness and moving the conversation forward regarding these biases will allow female bladder cancer patients to receive equitable care and create a positive change in the healthcare setting worldwide.

A fair and equal access to information, care and diagnosis is essential. One of our core missions is to help establish bladder cancer patient groups across the world. If you are looking to start a patient support group for people affected by bladder cancer in your country or region, no matter the size, please get in touch with us. The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition is ready to support and guide you along the way.

Learn more about bladder cancer on our bladder cancer information pages.

To find bladder cancer support near you, see Our Network of member organisations across the world.

For more information about International Women’s Day, please visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com

[1] World Health Organization. Bladder cancer.2020. Accessed on: 03 March 2022. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/30-Bladder-fact-sheet.pdf

[2] Urology Times. Gender disparities in bladder cancer management. 2019. Accessed on: 03 March 2022. Available at:https://www.urologytimes.com/view/bladdercancer

[3] National Center for Biotechnology information. Gender inequalities in the promptness of diagnosis of bladder and renal cancer after symptomatic presentation. 2013. Accessed on: 03 March 2022. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3693425/