January 2012

Walk for Bladder Cancer 2012

So far, 28 walks in 21 states have been organized by local volunteers and posted on BCAN’s interactive map. Is your state up there?

If you don’t see a walk scheduled near you, visit our Walk Organizer Home Base to learn more about how you can set up a walk in your community to raise awareness and funds for the fight against bladder cancer. And for a great overview of the Walks, check out this recording of our webinar from last night:

Want to be More Involved? BCAN Wants You!

BCAN has begun work to develop a network of local affiliates across the country. These local groups would work with BCAN to advance BCAN’s mission of raising awareness, providing education and support, and advancing research within their communities.

We’re hoping to launch the first affiliate in Dallas in the next few months! If you live in the Dallas area and would like to be help make this first affiliate happen, please contact Pat in Dallas (patpugsley@sbcglobal.net) Or if you’re interested in developing an affiliate in your area, please contact Janet at BCAN by email at jemciver@bcan.org or by phone at 888-901-2226.

Patient Forums Update

Planning is now underway for our next educational patient forum, which will take place in the Washington, DC area on Saturday, April 28th. Mark your calendars now! We’ll post more information in the coming months.

Slides and video are now available from our last patient forum, which was held in Houston, Texas on Saturday, December 10. This forum included some great presentations by doctors from the Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Check them out! As a preview, you can see this short clip of Dr. Ashish Kamat talking about BCG:

Video Clip: An Overview of BCG Treatment for Bladder Cancer – BCAN Houston Patient Forum from BCAN on Vimeo.

We’ve Moved!

With the help of our incredible supporters, BCAN has grown a lot in the past six years. We’re proud every time we’re able to do more in the fight against bladder cancer, whether by helping more patients, supporting more research, or doing more to raise awareness. Now, this expansion means that we’ve outgrown our first office! We’ve just moved to a larger office, only a block up the street.

BCAN’s phone and email addresses are all staying the same but our new physical and mailing address is:

Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
4915 St. Elmo Avenue, Suite 202
Bethesda, MD 20814

Please make a note of the new address, and thanks to everyone who made this growth possible!

2012 Raymond and Maria Floyd Award for Bladder Cancer Research

We’re excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2012 Raymond and Maria Floyd Award for Bladder Cancer Research! This annual $25,000 award to a young bladder cancer investigator is made possible by World Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd and his wife, Maria, a bladder cancer survivor.

The purpose of this grant is to advance research that will increase the understanding of bladder cancer risk, biology, prevention, and treatment while encouraging young investigators to pursue a career in bladder cancer research.

Learn more about the research being done by the past award recipients, including the 2011 winner, Dr. Gil Redelman-Sidi, a research fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the 2010 winner, Dr. Elizabeth Guancial, a fellow at Dana Farber in Boston.

Have you donated to BCAN’s 2012 Cornerstone Society?

If you have, please accept our most sincere appreciation. If not, we invite you to consider a gift. Your contribution at a specific level will enable BCAN to continue to offer patient education and support programs both in-person and online; develop new advocacy and awareness campaigns to help those in need of information on bladder cancer; and support innovative projects that ignite the spark toward new research efforts for early detection, new treatment options and, eventually, a cure.

As part of the 2012 BCAN Cornerstone Society, we will provide you with a unique bi-annual newsletter bringing you up-to-date information on current bladder cancer research, potential new programs & projects, and an insightful & thought provoking column on the “state of the bladder cancer community” by BCAN’s President and co- Founder, Diane Quale. For more details, click here: http://www.bcan.org/take-action/donate/2012-cornerstone-society/