Today’s World Cancer Day Guest Blogger is P. Sangeetha, a cancer caregiver from India and active volunteer with the patient organization Friends of Max. P. Sangeetha is an inspirational advocate who is not afraid to share her story, and in 2015 she was the first place winner of the Maximize Life Essay Contest. Read and share her story!
“CANCER” what comes to your mind as you read this six letter word? The five W’s, who, what, when, where and why comes to our head. In my life, who? Was my father, when? 2004, where? In his blood and why? The million dollar question whose answer we are still searching for.
When CANCER struck we were first so afraid because of the stigma the world has created with this word. Initially we thought it was going to be a lonely battle but we found a family the Friends of Max who befriended us when we needed a helping hand. This is one of the toughest groups I have seen. It is a group filled with warriors and their care givers.
What is cancer? Cancer is not just growth of cells; it is the growth of inner strength. I saw that in my father. He took the cancer, the power of the cells into his own hands and brought them under control.
The world makes it sound like cancer is terrifying, but it is not true. You can befriend your cancer cells. Yes, they are your foes, they need to be kept under control but you can still control them. A positive outlook in life gets a positive result.
Can-cer means can survive. Each warrior is facing their own battle but cancer in the name itself says can survive. You believe that you will get through this rough phase, you will.
The care givers are also part of the battle. They need as much mental strength as the warriors. Like cheer leaders in a basketball game, the care giver support the winning team, the captain, into winning their battle.
I have attended many meetings conducted by the Friends of Max, they all send the same message, to stay strong and to believe. To believe in yourself, in your doctor and in your medicine.
Cancer is not as terrifying as it sounds. It just seems that way, but you can win the battle against it if you follow the rules and stick to your game. Your game must be, taking care of yourself, taking your medicines on time, listening to your doctors, cooperating with your care givers and facing everyday as a challenge.
My message to you on world cancer day is, the C for CANCER can be inverted and made into a sad face or into a smile. Choose the smile. Face the big C with a bigger C, courage and take care.
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.
As part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration on October 19th, The Max Foundation was honored to have Princess Dina, President-elect of the Union of International Cancer Control, reflect on our global efforts over the last two decades. We share her letter here with gratitude and humility. “Lack of access to treatment” is a five-word sentence that is….
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.
In Guatemala, there are 14,200 new cases of cancer a year and from this amount 9,100 people die of cancer or 64.7%. Most of these diagnoses could have been prevented or better treated if diagnosed early. In Guatemala only the persons who have access to the national social security plan have free services and treatment, but poor quality and lack of medications or in most occasions. People who do not have social security have to pay for health services and for medications. As per statistics taken from Globocan 2008, the most common cancers in Guatemala are prostate, cervix, stomach, breast and lung cancers.
