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Introducing CBCAN.pdf

This year, more than 6,900 people in Canada will be diagnosed with bladder cancer, making it the 6th most common cancer in Canada (5th most common among men, with 5,100 cases and 12th most common among women with 1,750 cases).* With a recurrence rate of nearly 80%, bladder cancer is the most expensive cancer to treat on a per patient basis, and the high recurrence rate raises many issues affecting quality of life because of its persistence. There is a lack of awareness among the general population and the medical community, regarding the risks, diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Medical experts agree that there is a need for additional resources to be allocated for the diagnosis, treatment and research into bladder cancer.

Despite the pervasiveness of this disease, unlike virtually every other type of cancer, till now there has been no Canadian advocacy group dedicated to bladder cancer issues. The Canadian Bladder Cancer Network (CBCAN) was created in Sept 2009 as the first and only Canadian patient advocacy organization dedicated to bladder cancer issues. CBCAN is a Canadian non-profit corporation and its application for a federal charitable institution license is pending.

Our priority is to improve patient support. We will do this by having a patient to patient support system in place; be a source of information about available treatment options and create greater awareness of bladder cancer. Our phone and on-line volunteers have been trained to offer understanding and help to patients and their caregivers. Our website www.cbcan.org is a central information point for Canadian Bladder Cancer patients. CBCAN will produce and/or inform patients of available relevant publications and materials and how to avail themselves of these. CBCAN’s, mission, website address and general support information will be distributed to medical offices and clinics. Depending on financial support, a media campaign designed to inform the general public about the warning signs and symptoms of bladder cancer is planned.

We also put a high priority on raising funds for research. We want to approach government, corporate sponsors, foundations, and individuals. We plan fundraising events across Canada. Ultimately, CBCAN wants to raise sufficient funds to directly support bladder cancer research.

CBCAN was founded by David Guttman and Jack Moon. We are bladder cancer survivors – ‘thrivers’ is what we prefer! We had similar experiences; after diagnosis we could not locate

up-to-date information about our treatment options or prognosis, and we found it extremely difficult to find and to speak to other bladder cancer patients. Our motivation is: To help those following in our footsteps, by addressing the above issues and ensuring a significant effort is made in the area of medical research.

CBCAN’s Medical Advisory Board is composed of distinguished leading academic urologists, oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists working within the bladder cancer field, representing many of the major cancer centers in Canada.

The following are the founding members

Chairperson:
Wes Kassouf, MD, CM, FRCSC, McGill University, Montreal QC

Armen Aprikian, MD, FRCSC, McGill University, Montreal QC
Peter Black, MD, FRCSC, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Michel Carmel, MD, FRCSC, University of Sherbrook, Sherbrook QC
Joe Chin, MD, FRCSC, University of Western Ontario, London ON
Darrel Drachenberg, MD, FRCSC, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB
Yves Fradet, MD, FRCSC, Laval University, Laval QC
Michael Jewett, MD, FRCSC, FACS University of Toronto, Toronto ON
Ron Moore, MD, FRCSC, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB
Chris Morash, MD, FRCSC, University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON
Ricardo Rendon, MD, FRCSC, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS
Fred Saad, MD, FRCSC, CHUM, Montreal QC
Bobby Sheyagan, MD, FRCSC, McMasters University, Hamilton ON

For further information please contact:
M. David Guttman
Chairman CBCAN
davidg@cbcan.org