Dear Bladder Cancer Canada friend,
I know that you (or someone you care about) has been touched by bladder cancer. That’s not surprising, considering that 80,000 Canadians are currently living with bladder cancer and 12,000 more will be diagnosed this year. And while bladder cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Canada, it has a 60-70% recurrence rate, making it one of the most expensive cancers to treat on a per-patient basis. Yet this disease is seriously underfunded – ranking 21sth in terms of research funding among cancers in Canada.
As a former nurse and bladder cancer survivor, having had my bladder removed, I strongly believe we can do better in caring for and treating bladder cancer patients. This is where Bladder Cancer Canada (BCC) is able to help.
Our 2019 Annual Review details where we receive our funds, how we spend them, and perhaps most importantly, our collective impact. You can find the full report here, but below are a just a few highlights which demonstrate how your donations helped in 2019:
- Almost 30% more patients and families were helped by our patient support programs
- At least 4,309 individuals received educational support through patient meetings or online webinars
- Over 12,000 patient guidebooks were downloaded or distributed to doctors’ offices across Canada
In the report you’ll also see that BCC receives no government funding – instead, the majority of our funds comes from our awareness walk, which has raised approximately $600,000 annually in recent years. This money is spent on increasing patient support, raising awareness and funding research.
This is where I need your help. With one day left in our BCC Awareness Walk month, we are still more than $250,000 away from reaching our $600,000 fundraising goal. This might seem overwhelming, but I’m not giving up, because thousands of Canadians rely on us – like Kyla, a caregiver to her mom, Evelyn, a bladder cancer patient in Vancouver, British Columbia (seen in the photo below).
“Today we walked for my Mom, and the 12,000 other Canadians diagnosed with bladder cancer every year. Even though bladder cancer is the 5th most common, it is one of the most under-recognized and under-funded cancers in Canada. Mom has been lucky to benefit from recent advancements in treatment made possible by BCC – an organization that depends on #BCCWalk proceeds to support its mission: patient support and education; public and medical community awareness to promote earlier detection; and funding critical medical research.”
This has been a tough year for so many of us financially. If you’re like me, you’re scrutinizing your charitable giving more closely than ever before, wanting to make sure your donation will have the biggest impact and will be used responsibly. Rest assured that BCC is hard at work to make sure we are doing just that. In 2019, we received a 4-star ranking from Charity Intelligence Canada, which translates into a strong signal of confidence for donors.
There’s still time to help us reach our goal – will you donate today? Visit www.BCCWalk.ca and donate using the green Donate button in top right corner.
If you have already donated to our awareness walk, thank you so much for your support! You are making a huge difference to those diagnosed with bladder cancer.
With much gratitude,
Michele Zielinski
Managing Director, BCC
(and bladder cancer survivor!)
See our Charity Intelligence Canada ranking report online here.
