Breast Cancer Has No Geography or Gender
Across every region where we have launched breast cancer treatment programs, men are among the recipients of treatment.
Lan’s Story
[vc_video link=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckmQNcicoZ0′]
In Vietnam, due to the lack of specialist in rural areas, a significant number of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with minimal cash in hand must travel hundreds to thousands of kilometers to reach the hospitals in the city. The expenses for the trip itself is already a challenge for many patients let alone the cost of treatment. But today, there are numerous CML survivors who directly benefit from The Max Foundation’s patient access program to receive their cancer treatment at no cost. A living testimony to the success of our program is Lan.
Lan is a young, enthusiastic, Vietnamese woman living in Ha Noi, who refuses to be ordinary. On World CML Day 2017, Lan decided to let her treatment journey story to be heard. Lan was diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia when she was 23 years old. Initially, she was hesitant to share her story with anyone. It was kept within the family, as she was scared, weak and lost. With an attitude “Never give up nor abandon hope” she kept searching and successfully found what she looked for – The Max Foundation’s “magical” patient assistance program that would bring her the necessary CML treatment. 11 years later and the innovative program still supports Lan and many other CML patients in Vietnam.
Today Lan is living a happy normal life. Like other people in Vietnam, she goes to work and contributes to society. Because of the benefits of the patient assistance program, and continued stigma against cancer patients, Lan has started sharing her story – starting with this video.
Lan is forever grateful for the government that acknowledges the importance of patient assistance program. With Lan’s advocacy and our ongoing work, we hope to see other sustainable treatment access programs extended to many other patients in need.
Thao Tang is a MaxStation based in Ho Chi Minh City, who is managing Patient Assistant Program and passionate about supporting cancer patients of Vietnam.
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Every year, throughout the month of October, we honor Max and his legacy by partnering with our network of cancer organizations to carry out the Maximize Life Global Cancer Awareness Campaign. It is a month of service that aims at decreasing stigma and increasing hope for people living with cancer around the world.
The Maximize Life Campaign: Asia Pacific Region Patient Groups Are Telling Their Stories.
Nothing is more powerful than storytelling, especially when it’s told from a person’s first-hand experience.
In the Asia Pacific region, we are often known as “shy” community. We do not often share our stories publicly, especially a story about cancer diagnosis. We often have no one to turn to because we do not want our parents to worry; we do not want our children to feel the burden; we do not want to tell our neighbors who might be starting to avoid us because we are diagnosed with cancer.