Let’s Come Together, Shall We?
This year, the Malaysia team set a goal of creating deeper connections in our local patient initiatives. We wanted to see our patient community connect with each other. We changed the format of our patient...

This year, the Malaysia team set a goal of creating deeper connections in our local patient initiatives. We wanted to see our patient community connect with each other. We changed the format of our patient...
To celebrate the launch of our website, we hosted a celebration at Max HQ, which included a little friendly competition! We created a digital scavenger hunt on our website to see who knew our website the best. Test your knowledge about themaxfoundation.org and see how quickly you can complete the quiz!
For many patients, there aren’t many opportunities for them to learn about their disease directly from experts. So when the opportunity to hear from a hematologist at Naresuan University Hospital in Thailand, we were excited to maximize the event.
People, by nature, are not perfect and sometimes we forget how to love each other well. The dinner at the Rising Sun 2015 meeting prepared by MaxSmiles Thailand, was a reminder to me. Admittedly, I attended the dinner with the intention of eating as much Thai food as I could. Wirat, Thailand Senior MaxStation, reassured me that I would not be disappointed that night. He was totally right; who would’ve thought the dinner would feed my soul.
More than 45 patient advocates came together for the 2015 Rising Sun meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on October 9-11. Rising Sun, the Asia Pacific regional event, is an initiative driven by The Max Foundation in partnership with local patient groups that aims to enhance the capacity of patient-advocate leaders, increase the well-being of patient communities, and raise disease awareness through learning and sharing opportunities.
In an ideal world, a diagnosed cancer patient would receive disease and treatment information from their physician and healthcare workers at the clinic. With access to technology, they would broaden their knowledge and gain additional support from a patient group. Family and community members would also play a supportive role in searching for information and support.
Our Guest Bloggers collaborating on this summit overview are members of The Max Foundation team based in India who led and participated in the Friends of Max 2015 Leadership Summit. They include Shilpi Sirohi Singh, Ashika Naik, Ameya Surve, and Priyanka Kandalgaokar. In India, the word "Mela" means 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a 'fair'. India is a land of fairs and festivals – every month there are festivals held throughout the different regions of India.
Last month, Friends of Max (FOM), the support group arm of The Max Foundation (Max) in India gathered for their second Leadership Summit in Hyderabad. Friends of Max is a charitable trust registered in India comprised of individuals impacted directly and indirectly by chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). More than 120 City Chapter leaders and the whole team from The Max Foundation in India attended the meeting on 18th and 19th April 2015. This event rallied advocates and practitioners who serve and support people living with cancer in India. It was a full couple of days!
Sign up to hear about our latest stories, news, and upcoming events.