This year, like past years, 16 patient support groups in Africa and Middle East have joined the Maximize Life Campaign with enthusiasm and excitement. All the groups in Africa welcome back our friends from Sierra Leone who inspired us all with their resilience in the face of the Ebola epidemic that touched their country.
The month of October has become synonymous with a month where advocacy, disease information, and the fight against the stigma of cancer is at the frontline in the region. Many of the campaign events have invited local medial to increase the reach and visibility of the local support groups. Members of the groups have used their social media platforms to let the world know they are alive and living well with CML because they have access to treatment.
Patient leaders from Africa are taking to the airways during Maximize life to call on their local governments to get involved and increase access to treatment and monitoring tests for all cancer patients. Support group members are openly sharing their stories. Members want to educate their community on the importance of early cancer detection and treatment. They especially want to show that it is possible to be a productive member of society when one has access to treatment.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
In the last decade, we have reached over 10,000 patients and caregivers in Malaysia. This has been one of the most significant things in my journey with The Max Foundation: the opportunity to work with so many amazing individuals – each one of them teaches me the meaning of life, shows me the courage, and prove that nothing is impossible.
“CANCER” what comes to your mind as you read this six letter word? The five W’s, who, what, when, where and why comes to our head. In my life, who? Was my father, when? 2004, where? In his blood and why? The million dollar question whose answer we are still searching for.
Each year, The Max Foundation chooses a colleague to receive our Excellence in Patient Advocacy Award, honoring a member of our global team who has done something especially remarkable that year. On December 17th, we were delighted to present this year’s Excellence in Patient Advocacy Award to Viji Venkatesh, Region Head for South Asia, for her tireless dedication to the patients she serves.
