Raising Bladder Cancer Awareness Around the Globe

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2024 in Punta Cana brought together advocates, healthcare professionals, and community leaders from around the world to share their unique approaches to raising awareness about bladder cancer. Through presentations from Italy, Canada, France, and countries across Africa, the Forum highlighted the dedication of advocates working to improve lives for people with bladder cancer.

Laura Magenta, representing Italy’s only bladder cancer patient organisation, Associazione PaLiNUro, shared the success of their first awareness walk, the Stop Red Walk. This event, celebrating PaLiNUro’s tenth anniversary, united the Milan community in Italy and reached millions through social media and the press. Despite some challenges with logistics, the event helped Italians learn more about the symptoms of bladder cancer and the importance of early detection.

Dr Lydia Makaroff, CEO of Fight Bladder Cancer speaking from her experience in the UK, discussed how advocates have connected with Members of Parliament (MEP) to raise bladder cancer awareness among lawmakers. By organising a drop-in session in the Houses of Parliament, her team promoted the need for a national audit of bladder cancer care and improved referral pathways. This outreach helped build strong relationships with MPs and encouraged future policy support for bladder cancer.

Theodoros Yfantis shared the Bladder Cancer Awareness Month 2024 Grants Programme, which has supported awareness projects in low- and middle-income countries since 2022. Campaigns in countries like Ghana have provided free screenings, or in Nigeria, Malawi and Argentina distributed educational materials, and set up support groups, reaching thousands of people in their communities. These efforts show the impact of locally-led projects in getting critical information to underserved areas.

In Canada, Michelle Colero highlighted how a grassroots “Light Up” campaign has grown to boost bladder cancer visibility nationwide. Originally starting with one landmark in Toronto, the campaign now lights up 22 sites across Canada every May, helping to spark conversations about bladder cancer. With local support, these lights help Canadians learn more about the disease in an accessible way.

Lori Cirefice of France spoke about hospital outreach events where advocates and healthcare providers work together to raise awareness about bladder cancer symptoms and resources. Through booths and small events in hospitals, they are building connections with both patients and healthcare professionals, paving the way for ongoing support.

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2024 showed the power of community-driven initiatives. Each project, while different, shares a common goal: helping people learn about bladder cancer, understand the importance of early detection, and connect with local resources. The insights and connections made at the Forum will help guide future steps in global bladder cancer advocacy.

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2024 once again connected our friends and colleagues. It allowed for the sharing of best practice in our community, exchanging patient experiences and challenges while exploring opportunities for improvement together and fostering our close-knit community of bladder cancer patient advocates.

Watch the full session, “Raising Bladder Cancer Awareness Around the Globe” on the WBCPC YouTube Channel.