Launched in 2014, The Max Schooling Project (“Projek Sambung Sekolah” in Malay) enables the children of cancer patients to continue their educations and graduate from Form Five – the equivalent of high school in Malaysia.
Rising Sun 2018 has more than 60 participants from 18 countries, consisting of patient leaders, physicians, pharma representatives, advocates, caregivers, and volunteers. Growing beyond our original scope of capacity building, this year we have brought Rising Sun to another level: Access to Treatment is Access to Life – Everyone Has a Role!
When someone facing cancer gains access to treatment, they gain access to life. With oral chemotherapies, access to treatment isn’t simply a one-time occurrence. Each and every day, tens of thousands of cancer patients take life-saving medication they receive free-of-cost – all thanks to the unseen work of partners, donors, and Max team members.
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.
Each of us had to dig deep within ourselves to summon the strength, courage, and determination to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, until we reached base camp and then set out in the dark early hours of July23rd for the summit. But we were not alone – we shared a strong connection and solidarity among our team of 23 that in just a few short days grew close through our shared experience.
Tony Leo from from Malaysia and living in Singapore inspired The Max Foundation to host our 2017 Max Global Experience in Malaysia to climb Mt. Kinabalu. Tony’s story explains how this climb closes a 10-year-journey of discovering and living beyond his cancer diagnosis. 10 years ago, for my first attempt to climb Mount Kinabalu, I felt….
I found myself reflecting about vulnerability. In a way, vulnerability is an impact. After hours of phone calls throughout the year, families have opened themselves up to me. The vulnerability is not just a spur of the moment but hopefully built on mutual trust and respect. I gain a new perspective about vulnerability – it draws out your strength when you respond to it with care.
When Ka came to Thailand for access to treatment, she had the chance to join the MaxSmiles patient group meetings. Ka started to dream about having her own meetings and soon found support from Dr. Mary Cluck, an Australian volunteer working with Cambodian CML patients. Ka stepped up and called the patients one-by-one to invite them to their first patient meeting.
It was an amazing 24 hours! To celebrate Max’s birthday anniversary, we went around the world through Facebook Live to visit each regional office, meet special friends, and learn how each of us contributes to caring and supporting people facing cancer. Never before has our team felt so close and united. Watch each of the….
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