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From October 23 to 27, oncologists, researchers and patient advocates from around the world met in Madrid for the ESMO Congress 2026. We were there to make sure the voices of people affected by bladder cancer were part of the conversation.
Over the four days, our CEO Alex Filicevas, President Lori Funk and VP Michelle Colero engaged with stakeholders, uro oncolgists as well as fellow cancer patient advocates as well as our industry partners.
Behind every cancer statistic is a person: someone who noticed a change, sought help and heard the words “bladder cancer”, and the family and carers beside them. On July 8, 2026, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)published GLOBOCAN 2024, its latest estimates of cancer cases and deaths for 34 types of cancer in 186 countries. The new figures confirm that bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world,
Facebook group with no funding and no government contacts. A seat on the committee that decides which cancer drugs Taiwan’s national health insurance will pay for. That’s the distance the Taiwan Young Patient Association (TYPA) has travelled since 2017, and at Advocates Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, its Secretary General, Eric Liu, walked our members through exactly how.
From support group to seat at the table
TYPA started when Eric’s co-founder,
Would you fund a new bladder cancer drug that costs two and a half times more than the current treatment, works a little better, and comes with no proof yet that it helps people live longer? That was the question facing WBCPC members on Advocates Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, during a hands-on workshop, “Health Technology Assessment for patient advocates,” led by Fiona Pearce,
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC) has co-signed the WECAN Foundation Open Letter, “Cancer Cannot Wait: Safeguard Health as a Standalone Priority in the EU Budget” joining patient organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers, and civil society groups across Europe in calling on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to protect health funding in the next EU Budget.
Below is the full Open Letter calling for immediate action.
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition is pleased to share the publication of Mission Early’s Call to Action for Better Early Cancer Care, a global initiative calling for stronger policies to support early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The Call to Action was initially launched in November 2025 during the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne. It was later brought to the European policy stage during a roundtable discussion titled “Beating Cancer Early: From Evidence to Action”,
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition has launched the latest collaborative report Women Unseen: Tackling the Gender Care Gap in Bladder Cancer. The report examines the disparities women face across the bladder cancer pathway and outlines key actions to improve early diagnosis, clinical practice and overall care for women affected by bladder cancer.
The report brings together current evidence showing how women often experience delays in diagnosis, limited awareness of symptoms,
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC), together with the European Association of Urology(EAU), co-authored a White Paper on Bladder Cancer in Europe, setting out clear recommendations to improve outcomes for patients. Building on this work, a new perspective article published in Nature Reviews Urology, co-authored by WBCPC, EAU and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) draws directly on the findings of the White Paper.
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition is proud to announce the launch of its first Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) a significant step forward in our efforts to ensure all our work is grounded in the latest medicaland scientific expertise and the real needs of people affected by bladder cancer.
Comprised of leading urologists, oncologists, radiotherapists, researchers, pathologists, nurses, and other medical professionals from around the world, the SAB will provide independent advice to the WBCPC Board of Directors and senior leadership.
We are pleased to announce the release of a new educational course developed in collaboration with Medscape, now available to healthcare professionals globally.
Titled “Personalized Care is Pivotal: Navigating the Evolving Landscape for Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma” this free, CME-accredited course is designed to support oncologists, urologists, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals in delivering more individualised and person-centred care for people living with advanced bladder cancer.
The programme features a 45-minute interactive learning activity,
For general information, information about membership or policy information, please contact the WBCPC Secretariat at info@worldbladdercancer.org
For general information, information about membership or policy information, please contact the WBCPC Secretariat at info@worldbladdercancer.org
