Multinational Interstitial Cystitis Association

President: WATEL Françoise
Treasurer: HENSEN Juergen

MICA was created in 2006 to encourage and support international cooperation between patients support groups in the field of painful uro-gynecological diseases such as Interstitial Cystitis, Overactive bladder (OAB), vulvodynia, chronic pelvic pain (CPP), Chronic prostatitis and diseases associated with these. First intended to be a worlwide umbrella association, it decided in 2009 to focus on cooperation between European countries and to set up regular meetings and concrete actions.

MICA’s objectives are to advocate for better treatment throughout Europe for interstitial cystitis, better knowledge of the condition, and to encourage research and cooperation.

Interstitial cystitis is a very painful disease with no real cure so far. It is important that pain should be recognized and treated appropriately. IC pain is very often mixed with other kind of pelvic chronic pain, and might be something more than an isolated organic disease. This is why we feel very important to cooperate with other chronic pain associations (especially pelvic) so that patients suffering from chronic pelvic pain should benefit from global, patient-centred treatment and care, and that the impact on quality of life should be appropriately appreciated by social care systems in Europe.