Our goal is to bring bladder cancer to the top of the global health policy agenda, and we do this by communicating the key challenges faced by the bladder cancer patient community at the policy-level to drive concrete change.

We work to bring attention to the needs of patients throughout the entirety of care – from prevention, to diagnosis, access to information, support, treatment and care, quality of life and survivorship. We also advocate for better research to improve our  knowledge and understanding of bladder cancer.

We work together with our members and affiliates to support national advocacy efforts, develop key messages, and exchange experiences on what works well, and what doesn’t. We also help to build the capacity of our members to advocate for access to the best possible patient care, support and information.

Finally, we partner with a range of different organisations and stakeholders – including patient organisations, healthcare professionals, the private sector, academics and researchers, policymakers and other global patient organisations – to maximise the impact that we can have in our advocacy activities.

One key example of these partnerships is the White Paper on Bladder Cancer, developed with the European Association of Urology and launched in the European Parliament. The White Paper outlines 20 policy recommendations, highlighting 10 key actions to drive change. While EU-focused, many of these recommendations are relevant worldwide, helping to improve outcomes for bladder cancer patients everywhere.

Treatment, research and support for bladder cancer patients varies widely across the globe and even within countries and it’s critical that we mobilise bladder cancer patient organisations across the world to help ensure the best possible outcomes for patients, by communicating patient needs with key policymakers and advocating for positive change.