World Kidney Cancer Day (WKCD) took place on Thursday 20 June. The theme of this year’s campaign was “We need to talk about kidney cancer” to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of kidney cancer, both within the UK and on a global scale. Kidney Cancer Support Network (KCSN) led the promotional activities in the UK to help get people talking about this devastating disease. Activities included an interactive quiz, a video and various fundraising events.

The International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC), a global body of over 35 patient organisations focused on improving the lives of people affected by kidney cancer, established World Kidney Cancer Q&A Day in 2017. KCSN are proud to be a founding member of the IKCC and we support this global event, the aim of which is to raise awareness of kidney cancer.

The KCSN media and online campaign included the following reports, which were published in print and online:

• Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital (BTUH) News published a press release on their website about the WKCD Coffee and Cake afternoon organised by Dr Ramachandran Ravi, consultant urologist, for patients, carers and family members, and supported by KCSN.

The following groups/Ambassadors supported our online campaign reaching a combined audience of  around 140,000 across various online platforms:

• @BAUNnurses – British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN)
• @bignorms – Mark Crossley, professional footballer
• @RussellDalton – Russell Dalton, local radio presenter
• @BenBlack – social media influencer.

The KCSN social media campaign was a great success. In June alone we achieved over 21,500 Twitter ‘impressions’, with nearly 5,500 on World Kidney Cancer Day itself.Some KCSN members posted the World Kidney Cancer Day quiz on their own social media accounts to generate awareness amongst their friends.

One of our supporters posted the WKCD quiz and video on his social media platforms with a following of 91,000. He achieved over 2,000 impressions, demonstrating the reach of some of our KCSN members!

In addition to the social media campaign, KCSN raised awareness of World Kidney Cancer Day through the use of WKCD imagery on the home page of the KCSN website and a dedicated WKCD page with links to the kidney cancer quiz and fundraising pages. During the month of WKCD, 81% of KCSN website users were new to the site, with more than half of the audience residing in the UK and a quarter in the USA. Visitors to the KCSN website peaked around WKCD.

On or around World Kidney Cancer Day itself, Eisai Pharmaceuticals organised a Lunch & Learn event for employees to raise awareness of kidney cancer, and Basildon Hospital organised a coffee and cake afternoon to enable patients and carers to share success stories and experiences.

The KCSN campaign helped to spread the word with some fun photos of our members/supporters, while at the same time generating some much needed funds for the charity. Here are some of the many images that were posted:

Through global collaboration, we are raising awareness and providing a platform for action at local and national levels.

World Kidney Cancer Day has not only helped to raise awareness of this devastating disease on a global basis, but has also helped to highlight the valuable work of the KCSN supporting patients and families with kidney cancer throughout the UK. It has also helped to raise some much needed funds for the KCSN.