WBCPC team at the SIU42 Annual Congress in Montreal, Canada

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition team attended the 42^nd Annual SIU Congress – a leading global event organized by Société Internationale d’Urologie convening urologists worldwide. Our team included Dr Lydia Makaroff, President, Ken Bagshaw, Founding President and Alex Filicevas, Executive Director. This event marks the second-time participation for WBCPC at the SIU Congress.

We hosted a WBCPC Booth in the exhibit hall, where we invited urologists to learn more about the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition and our member organisations. In conversations with booth visitors from various countries, we highlighted the need for more bladder cancer patient organisations around the world. Stressing that, the Start-up guide for bladder cancer patient groups featured as a helpful tool to connect physicians, patients and caregivers with a wealth of ideas and resources from the WBCPC community.

The Start-up Guide for bladder cancer patient groups features tips and guidance on how to start a bladder cancer patient support group or organisation. Recently launched in Turkish, the guide is available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

The SIU Congress featured many insightful presentations and discussions about bladder cancer treatment and care today and in the future. Dr Lydia Makaroff joined the panel on Perioperative Immunotherapy Treatment of Localised Genitourinary Malignancies:

Where she highlighted that:

• Access to immunotherapy remains a challenge globally
• Striking the right balance between safety vs efficiency from the patient perspective
• It’s not only the length of life but also the depth of life that’s important

The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition continues its collaboration with the SIU, which started with a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021. We continue to develop this important partnership to advance bladder cancer patient care worldwide.