Rising Sun, as the title suggests, signifies the hope and future that patient leaders have been working toward for the cancer communities across the lands of Asia. It is a big family gathering which these patient leaders always look forward to every time, sharing the ups and downs of their work, seeking peer support, learning and growing together. Despite of the wide array of missions and different socio-contexts, Rising Sun magically unifies and empowers everyone from different pathways towards the ultimate goal of improving cancer survivorship.
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! We want to explore and encourage collaborative efforts in access to cancer treatments, starting from each individuals’ contribution.
Why the theme? To patients in Asia, ‘access’ generally means getting treated in hospitals. Seldom will they think about what factors influence the availability of treatments where they live, what other options might be available, why comprehensive care is important, and what they can contribute to improve the existing condition.
He added: “I believe I can bring impact to the community through constant and strategic social media content updates and engaging offline activities which people will love to experience. I want the people to be more understanding and open to the idea that chronic illnesses can happen to anyone at any given time.”
Through treatment access programs, as well as through capacity building platforms like the Rising Sun cancer summit provided by The Max Foundation, patients have transformed to become better people.
Asking about the simple action that the public can take to improve the access to cancer treatment, Pramod grinned confidently: “Share your knowledge, experience, and care for others. Your positive sharing will surely brighten up some other person, not necessarily a cancer patient but even a colleague or common man you bump into.”
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.
Physicians are an essential part of our work. We partner with more than 500 healthcare professionals who provide cancer treatment in low- and middle-income countries. They volunteer to be in our program, caring for people in need on top of their regular schedule. Dr. Mipsang Lama is a perfect example – he goes above and….
For the 20th anniversary of World Cancer Day, we asked our global team members, physicians, patients, caregivers, and advocates to share what progress in cancer care means to them. Progress means all cancer patients get the treatment they deserve.[/e World Cancer Day, celebrated on February 4, is a global initiative that aims to raise awareness….
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.
