Talking about Urology

Written by Serena Wyman, Fundraising and Events Manager, The Urology Foundation

The Urology Foundation (TUF) is a charity dedicated to improving urological health across all urological conditions through investment in cuttingedge research, the training and education of urology professionals, awareness and campaigning.

Diseases and cancers of the kidneys, bladder, prostate and male reproductive organs are becoming more prevalent and devastating the lives of thousands of men, women and children in the UK and Ireland. TUF is committed to finding better treatments and cures, nurturing urology professionals to deliver better care and raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of these diseases and encouraging an early diagnosis.

Our mission is to increase survival and improve quality of life for people with urology disease.

In order to achieve this

• We invest in ground-breaking, innovative research to find new way to diagnose, treatment and manage these diseases, including setting up the TUF Trials Unit in 2021.

• We support and equip urology profession (i.e. registrars, nurses, consultants, trainees, or surgeons) to develop the skills, knowledge and expertise to be able to offer the highest quality care to patients and their loved ones. In September we launched a series of videos on good communication specifically for healthcare professionals.

You can find the videos on our website theurologyfoundation.org

• Engage with influencers and decisions makers including participation in All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) and events. For example, this September we had an Early Day Motion to draw the attention of Parliamentarians to urological disease.

• Collaborations with those working in or with an interest in urological conditions

• We work with patients and their families to drive change

• Run and support public awareness campaigns

• Work to breakdown the taboo around urology disease

The delivery of our public awareness campaigns takes a number of forms including our website, social media content, providing expert speakers and commentary on topical issues, supporting urology associated health campaigns such as World Continence Week in addition to our own two regular health campaigns – Urology Awareness Month and TUF Nuts Tuesday.

TUF organised the first Urology Awareness Month in 2014 which now runs annually every September. It is an opportunity to bring together the urology community – researchers, urologists, nurses and allied healthcare professionals, influencers and decision makers,

patients and their families - and all those with an interest in urological diseases. This year TUF commissioned an independent survey of 2,000 people into the public’s awareness of urology conditions. Some of the results reinforce the need for more education:

• 1 in 3 men would not seek advice or know that Erectile Dysfunction could be a sign of a serious medical condition

• Despite the fact that urinary track infections are the second most common kind of infection 25% of those surveyed did not know what could put them at risk of developing a UTI

• 1 in 3 in three people surveyed did not know what could contribute to the development of kidney stones or what lifestyle choices they could make to lower their likelihood of them doing so

The second campaign that we run is on testicular cancer.

Past research we commissioned suggests that a quarter of people in the UK would not seek medical advice for a urological condition because of embarrassment and that 20% of people who are suffering from, or know someone suffering from, a urological condition, feel ashamed.

We know there can be many barriers to men accessing health information and support. These

include poor understanding of specific diseases, a fear of being diagnosed with a serious illness, cultural differences, stigma and a reluctance to engage in health or well-being programmes. Add to this the fact that men are often loathe to discuss their health, especially anything to do with their sexual organs, and it is likely that that this percentage is increased in men, with men delaying seeing their GP due to embarrassment. With early detection of testicular cancer being key to survival rates TUF launched the #TUFNutsTuesday campaign.

The idea behind the campaign is to promote the fact that testicular cancer has a 98% survival rate if it is caught early and therefore men should regularly check themselves, to know what is normal for them, and if they spot any changes to see their GP as a matter of urgency. We ask men to get into the habit of checking themselves on the first Tuesday of every month. We use social media posts as a reminder for them to do so and direct them to our website for advice on how best to check themselves.

Healthcare professionals can access a range of downloadable education resources and posters on our website, theurologyfoundation.org, or order a free resource pack which includes posters, leaflets, flyers and newsletters by emailing TUF at info@theurologyfoundation.org