The final session of Public Day at the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Addressing gaps in support for women with bladder cancer, was chaired by Christine La Rose of BEAT Bladder Cancer Australia, with Angela Pelletier of Bladder Cancer Canada, Hilda Kwok, Nurse Consultant in Urology at Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, and Dr Makarand Khochikar, Head of Urology and Urologic Oncology at KIMS Hospital,
News & Events Category: NEWS
Capturing lived experience with bladder cancer: three journeys, one message
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, the session Capturing lived experience with bladder cancer brought together three people who have lived it: Amit Rele, joining online from India, Junichiro Sano of the Patient Association of Bladder Cancer Japan, and Amy Samuel, President of Bladder Cancer Sénégal. Consistently one of the Forum’s most valued sessions, it gave the day its most personal hour.
Amit Rele: “patients are only limited by their beliefs”
Charting the path to Shared Decision-Making: from patient as passenger to patient as partner
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Adam Lynch, Founder and CEO of BEAT Bladder Cancer Australia, moderated Charting the path to Shared Decision-Making with Melanie Costin (Fight Bladder Cancer), Dr Brian Ho (Hong Kong Urological Association), Mădălina Iamandei (All.Can International), Nicole Dixon (Johnson & Johnson) and Dr Murallitharan Munisamy (National Cancer Society of Malaysia).
Role of carers in the healthcare system: the person sitting beside the patient
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Lori Funk Cirefice, President of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition, hosted: “Role of carers in the healthcare system” with Laurent Gemenick and David Garrigues Ronda, the couple who co-founded CANVES, Spain’s first bladder cancer support group. Laurent is the patient. David is his carer.
Lori opened with the premise the whole Forum had been circling: a bladder cancer diagnosis does not land on one person.
WBCPC and our global impact: what the Coalition has built
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Alex Filicevas, Executive Director of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition, presented WBCPC and our global impact, a tour of what the Coalition and its members have achieved and what comes next.
He began with the community itself. The Coalition now brings together 17 member organisations across 14 countries, and is still growing, with a wider circle of advocates,
Designing patient centric clinical trials: who is in the room when a protocol is written
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Lauren Pretorius, CEO of Campaigning for Cancer, moderated Designing patient-centric clinical trials, joined by Alessandro Boni, Vice President of Associazione PaLiNUro in Italy, Dr Kenneth Chen, Senior Consultant in Uro-oncology at Singapore General Hospital, and Anjali Malhotra, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at ImmunityBio.
Lauren set the terms of the discussion in her opening.
Spot the Drop Kenya: from awareness to a community
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Marie Magenhann Cueto, Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator at the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition, and Charles Muya from the Kenyan Network of Cancer Organisations (KENCO) presented the “Bladder Cancer Awareness Month showcase”.
Bladder cancer is rare in Kenya, rarely talked about, and has no patient community to build on. So when KENCO received a BCAM Grant,
Latest developments in bladder cancer research: what it means for patients
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, two members of our Scientific Advisory Board presented Latest developments in bladder cancer research: Prof. Jeremy Teoh, Professor and Assistant Dean (External Affairs) at the Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Vice Chair of the Board, and Dr Makarand Khochikar, Head of Urology and Urologic Oncology at KIMS Hospital,
Bladder cancer care realities: perspectives from Japan and India
On Public Day of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2026 in Hong Kong, Junichiro Sano of the Patient Association of Bladder Cancer Japan and Sanjeev Sharma, Co-Founder and Director of Bladder Cancer India and the Lung Connect India Foundation, presented Bladder cancer care realities around the world. Two countries, two very different health systems, and a set of problems that turned out to be strikingly similar.
Japan: thirty years of waiting
For about three decades after BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) treatment arrived in Japan,
Shared evidence & impact: Shaping our next patient and carer survey
Advocates Day closed the way it began: with the room doing the work together. The final session, “Shared evidence & impact: Shaping our next patient and carer survey,” used a World Café format, four tables, three short rounds, and members moving between them, to help shape the next chapter of WBCPC’s research.
Why now
Alex Filicevas, Executive Director of WBCPC, opened with a look back at the Coalition’s 2023 Global Patient and Carer Survey: nearly 1,200 respondents across 45 countries,
