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Bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the most frequently occurring tumour of the urinary system. Each year between 10,000-12,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bladder cancer. Of these, around 4,000 people will die of the disease.

If treated early, survival rates are good, but patients require frequent lifelong monitoring. This makes bladder cancer the most expensive cancer to treat. Thirty five percent of people will get recurrences of the disease, though this recurrence rate is being reduced with the introduction of new technologies such as blue light cystoscopy.

Bladder cancer research receives very little funding compared to other cancers.

How Pelican helps

Pelican Cancer Foundation aims to save and improve the lives of those with bladder cancer by improving treatment. It achieves this by supporting the research, development and dissemination of advances in treatment.

Pelican is a centre of excellence for sharing life-saving, life-enhancing knowledge and skills with multidisciplinary urology and bladder teams. Pelican provides a forum for teams to share and learn about current best practice and research.

Pelican supports the work of the urology unit at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital with the purchase of technology to improve bladder cancer treatment. Pelican also supports research that informs and improves bladder cancer treatment today.

Our achievements

  • In 2009 a pilot bladder cancer MDT course at Pelican provided 56 delegates from 17 hospitals with an opportunity to learn about current best practice and research.
  • A Pelican research trial has shown that blue light cystoscopy can reduce the bladder cancer recurrence rate from 35% to just 10%.
  • Thanks to Pelican’s purchase of a blue light cystoscopy machine (funded by the Leathersellers Livery Company and the North Hampshire Medical Fund in 2008), patients in North Hampshire and Surrey were among the first in the country to be offered this treatment on the NHS at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and privately at the Hampshire Clinic.

Our priorities

To research, develop and disseminate advances in precision treatment for bladder cancer. Our objective is to organise challenging and popular professional medical courses that encourage learning, collaboration and discussion. The charity’s research studies will investigate ways to improve survival for today’s bladder cancer patients.

The future

Pelican will continue to support research looking at bladder cancer. Pelican will also continue to support educational meetings and seminars that investigate treatments to provide the best outcomes for patients with bladder cancer.

© 2011 Pelican Cancer Foundation. Registered charity number 1141911 (England and Wales). A company limited by guarantee number 7264864 (England)