World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum
Together in Brussels for global bladder cancer advocacy
The World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum 2025 took place on 13–14 October in Brussels, Belgium, bringing together patients, carers, advocates, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers from across the world.
Held under the patronage of the European Parliament, this year’s Forum recognised the importance of advancing patient voices and shaping better bladder cancer care across Europe and beyond.
Over two days, participants exchanged ideas, shared experiences, and explored how to strengthen global collaboration to improve outcomes for people affected by bladder cancer.
Highlights from the Forum
The first day, Advocates Day, was dedicated to our member organisations, offering space to connect, collaborate, and shape the Coalition’s collective vision.
The second day, Public Day, welcomed a broader audience for open discussions on topics including:
✔️ Patient stories and lived experiences
✔️ New developments in bladder cancer research
✔️ Policy and access to treatment
✔️ Advocacy initiatives driving change worldwide
From inspiring keynote messages and in-depth panel discussions to moments of reflection and connection, the Forum was a powerful reminder of the strength of our global community.
News articles summarising each session are now available on this page.
What’s next
A full Forum Report will be published soon, capturing key messages, outcomes, and next steps for the bladder cancer community.
Video recordings of all sessions will also be released on our YouTube Channel in the coming weeks.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Brussels and online. Your engagement and shared commitment continue to drive the movement for better bladder cancer care worldwide.
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Looking back at 2024:
We hosted our 4th World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum on October 1–2, 2024, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It brought together patient advocates, healthcare professionals, and experts from around the world for two days of meaningful discussions and collaboration.
Day one explored success stories in patient advocacy, collaborations with healthcare, and recent advances in research. Day two focused on global cooperation, enhancing patient care, shaping policy, and planning future advocacy initiatives.
Thank you to everyone who participated, both in person and online. Your commitment and support continue to drive our mission forward.
Watch the highlights from 2024 below and revisit the entire event on the WBCPC YouTube Channel. The event report will follow soon—stay tuned!
If you would like to revisit the entire event – the recording is available on the WBCPC YouTube Channel. The event report will follow, which aims to capture the essence of the Forum discussions. Stay tuned!
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Event Resources
2024 Event Report
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2023 Event Report
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2023 Event Recording
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2022 Event Report
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2022 Event Recording
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2021 Event Report
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2021 Event Recap
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this sectionAdvice from Bladder Cancer Forum 2021
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2021 Event Recording
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As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2020 Event Recording
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2020 Event Report
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this section2022 Event Recording
More to come
As we develop additional videos or resources relating to the World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum, we will be adding them to this sectionOur past events
Each year we aim to build on the success of our previous events, learn from previous conversations and ensure that the quality of life of the people affected by bladder cancer improves.
If you are interested in exploring our past events and to better understand what drives us, then click below!
The 4th annual World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum took place in 2024 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, marking an important milestone as it expanded to a two-day programme for the first time. This extended format provided a deeper space for discussion, reflection, and collaboration, bringing together patients, advocates, healthcare professionals, experts, and industry representatives from around the world.
In 2024, we placed a special focus on understanding patients’ needs for information and support, highlighting innovative ways to make resources more accessible across languages and regions. For the first time, we gathered in Latin America, with regional insights adding valuable perspectives to our shared global efforts.
The 3rd annual World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum was held in 2023 in Madrid, Spain. Once again, it served as a platform of knowledge and partnership for the global bladder cancer patient community. The Forum brought together people affected by and working with bladder cancer – patients, patient representatives, healthcare professionals, experts, and industry representatives, fostering knowledge sharing and inspiring conversations on addressing some of the most pressing challenges in our patient community worldwide.
In 2023, we especially focused on understanding bladder cancer patients’ supportive and complementary care needs. The Forum featured engaging presentations and facilitated insightful discussions with speakers from different corners of the world.
The second World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum brought together our community in Paris and virtually. This year’s Forum was a milestone event for our international community and because we shared the insights from our first Bladder Cancer Patient and Caregiver Survey.
This year’s theme, ‘Taking bladder cancer patients’ voice forward’, is a stepping stone for action, drawing from the results of the Bladder Cancer Patient and Caregiver Survey.
The multi-stakeholder panel moderated by Dr Lydia Makaroff featured conversations with patient advocates, medical society, healthcare professional and industry perspectives regarding more concrete ways on taking patient’s voice forward.
We welcomed our member organisations from across the world this year. Their three different projects from Australia, Canada and Italy showcased the diversity of incredible efforts of patient organisations to support people affected by bladder cancer and drive much-needed change locally.
The first World Bladder Cancer Patient Forum took place virtually on September 22, bringing together over 150 registered attendees from 35 countries.
The Forum brought together leading voices from around the world. The panel discussed the role of patient voice from research design to treatment and care. The multi-stakeholder panel also explored the challenges of including patients’ voices in research design, bladder cancer care, and in driving policy change in areas concerning people affected by bladder cancer.
Our coalition member organisations have also showcased some of the activities they are leading. Many of which are having a positive impact on bladder cancer patients in their countries and communities.
At the WBCPC 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, held in September we have brought together leaders in bladder cancer research, advocacy, patient organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. Participants from 25 countries worldwide have joined us to explore the topic: What action is needed to place bladder cancer higher on the global health policy agenda?
Strong bladder cancer patient groups across the world can bring bladder cancer higher on national and global health policy agenda, thus driving our collective mission towards ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients. One of the core missions of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition is to foster an international community of people affected by bladder cancer.
We discussed different avenues for engaging our multi-stakeholder network to help us deliver this mission, exchange ideas on how to connect these communities with each other and with resources, and how to bring unity for the vision and goals of bladder cancer patient organisations worldwide.
The meeting will also brought attention to some of the most pressing issues in the bladder cancer community. From medicines shortages to innovation in bladder cancer, the discussion focused on patients voice in shaping research agenda and driving advocacy and policy change.
