Posted by Guest Blogger on March 03, 2011
Our guest blogger today is Nelia Medina, MaxStation in the Philippines. Nelia, who has been with The Max Foundation for seven years, works closely with the local patient group, Touched By Max. Many of the cancer survivors in the patient group are beneficiaries of Novartis Oncology Access programs and the celebration captured in this blog is a way of showing their appreciation for life and help with treatment access.
Around 400 patients and their families came to celebrate together on February 26th and everyone was encouraged to bring a handmade hat and show it off! The “Hats Off” celebration was a way that people living with CML and GIST in the Philippines could show their appreciation for life in a fun and festive way. Our photo gallery shows the smiling faces among the crowd while the contestants enjoy few minutes of their fame, showing off their hats on stage.
It was so much fun to see different sizes, shapes, colors of hats mostly made from local materials. Some patients actually made an effort to make hat out of recycled materials. They gamely walked on the stage like a professional fashion models with their hats on.
And what better way to pay tribute to life? This year’s theme of the annual celebration was “Best Hat Day”. It simply meant: hats-off to Novartis for their unwavering support to the cancer patients, a salute to the physicians for their invaluable commitment, and gratitude to our dear patients and their families who have remained courageous in their fight against cancer.
Yet another year has passed and we look forward to many more thanksgiving celebrations to come. Hat-off to everyone!