October 19th is Max’s Day. We honor the day because it marks Max’s birthday. At the very same time, we honor all the people who have been helped in his name.
Max’s name has become a symbol of hope around the world through the work of The Max Foundation. And beneath it, lifting it higher and higher for all to see, are more than 70 team members and countless advocates across different sectors all working together to expand treatment access for people facing cancer. You all choose to wake up every day and honor Max’s name and build his legacy. For that, I am forever grateful.
At The Max Foundation, we often say, “Access to treatment is access to life.” They are words we live by and make manifest through our extensive network of partner healthcare providers and a Humanitarian PACT among our corporate partners: key pieces of a treatment access model that delivers medicine to people who need it, just like Max needed.
Throughout October, we are asking ourselves and our friends around the world to consider what access to treatment means for each of us. So, as we embrace Max’s Day with honor and reflection, I ask you to reflect on a simple question: what does treatment access mean to you?
Pat Garcia-Gonzalez is the CEO of The Max Foundation. Under Pat’s direction The Max Foundation is dedicated to accelerating health equity by delivering medication, technology, and services to patients facing cancer and other critical illnesses, focusing our energy on those who no one else is helping. Pat lives in Edmonds, Washington, where she raised her four sons.
“I saw inspiration when I met him for the first time. That’s the day I decided I want to be a source of inspiration for others.”
Max Family Malaysia celebrated 10 years of service to cancer patients in Malaysia by sharing stories and song, and remembering those that have served as an inspiration to others.
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.
Health systems around the world are strained due to the high burden of costs. In an attempt to guide decision-makers in their choices on behalf of patients, the topic of value frameworks was born. These value frameworks evaluate all aspects of cancer treatment: clinical benefit, side effects, and improvement in patient symptoms or quality of life. But given the complexities of the multitude of health systems around the world, it is not a straightforward discussion. And right now, it’s a dialogue driven by thought leaders and health economists from the US and Europe. But there are critical voices is missing from this discussion: patients and patient advocates.
