Dr Lydia Makaroff
Chief Executive, Fight Bladder Cancer
Over 21,000 people are diagnosed with invasive and non-invasive bladder cancer annually in the UK.
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the western world. For men, it is the fourth most common. Despite the high number of people diagnosed, bladder cancer currently receives just 1% of cancer research funding in the UK and is still largely unknown.
The key to survival
There is a huge lack of awareness about bladder cancer, and we are on a mission to change this.
A timely diagnosis offers a significant increase in the chance of long-term survival and quality of life. By ensuring early diagnosis and seeking medical advice and care, the survival rate can be as high as 90%.
Know the symptoms
Bladder cancer is more common than people think, and in many cases, patients hear of bladder cancer for the first time when they receive their diagnosis. People must know the symptoms and get to their GP as soon as they appear.
The most common symptom is blood in the urine, even once. However, one of the main barriers to diagnosis is mistaking symptoms of bladder cancer for non-threatening urinary conditions, especially in women.
By ensuring early diagnosis and seeking
medical advice and care, the survival
rate can be as high as 90%.
Hiding in plain sight
Unfortunately, there is no existing screening test for bladder cancer; and since symptoms are shared with many innocuous medical conditions, they are often overlooked by both patients and GPs in the early stages, resulting in poorer prognoses and outcomes for patients.
This is why we are calling for the NHS to adopt national referral guidelines to help ensure that GPs are equipped to catch bladder cancer symptoms early.
Patient experience: luck of the draw
There is no consistent patient pathway for bladder cancer, leading to drastically varying experiences for bladder cancer patients across the country. It is unacceptable that survival for patients has not improved over the last three decades. Certain groups affected by bladder cancer, including women and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, experience poorer outcomes.1
We want to change the face of bladder cancer care in the UK to guarantee that every patient, no matter their background or where they live, receives the fastest possible diagnosis and the highest quality treatment and care, along with the support and information they need.
[1] Huddart, R. A., Jones, R., & Choudhury, A. (2015). Clinical Oncology, 27(7), 380–381.
