The Max Foundation is proud to announce CEO, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez as the recipient of the National Cancer Institute Global Cancer Medicine Humanitarian Award at the U.S. National Cancer Institute 3rd Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research held in Boston on 25 March 2015.
In the award letter from the National Cancer Institute(NCI), Dr. Edward L. Trimble, MD, MPH, Director of the NCI’s Center for Global Health writes about Pat: “Our global cancer community has been inspired by your outstanding contributions to advancing cancer care equity through The Max Foundation, and as recognition of that work, we would like to honor you.”
Dr. Trimble continues, “Not only have your efforts saved numerous lives, but, to paraphrase Donald Berwick, your contributions go beyond health metrics and health indicators— your contributions will allow mothers and fathers to attend graduations and weddings they would have missed, and grandchildren to know grandparents they might never have known, and holidays will be taken, and work completed, and books read, and symphonies heard, and gardens tended that, without your work, would never have been.”
In response to the award, Pat has said, “I am humbled, excited and honored by the recognition given to me thanks to NCI’s Center for Global Health. I see this moment as an opportunity to tell the world about the great collaborations that have made my work possible, as well as a chance to reinforce our collective responsibility around creating solutions to increase global access to treatment, care and support for people living with cancer around the world.”
This is the first Global Cancer Medicine Humanitarian Award to be given at the NCI’s Symposium.
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.
Are you ready for an unforgettable summer? This August, we invite you to join us for the Max Global Experience – Uganda to be part of the African patient journey by walking a mile (or 365!) in the shoes of African cancer survivors who often must travel for miles and even days to access treatment for their cancer.
In all these years, through all of the struggle and emotional upheaval of her diagnosis, Hira remained her active and busy self. She never missed her daily routine of the wharf and the bazaar, nor did she let her work and routine come in the way of her managing her CML.
Each year on October 19th, Max’s Day, we honor Maximiliano “Max” Rivarola and his legacy of lifesaving support for cancer survivors through the work of The Max Foundation. This year, on Max’s Day at The Max Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, I wrote a letter to Max, reflecting on what his legacy has meant for patients,….
