This Thursday, 9/22, The Max Foundation and My PCR will join the global CML community in raising our collective voices in support of the needs of people living with CML worldwide. Initiated by the patient community in 2008, September 22 (9/22) has marked World CML Day because of its symbolic significance – the disease is caused by the change of chromosomes 9 and 22. On this day, patients, advocates, physicians and caregivers across the globe come together to raise awareness about their needs to the general public, politicians, and medical professionals across the world.
World CML Day is also a significant date for the My PCR initiative as it marks four years since the initial launch of the campaign. The My PCR initiative is a patient driven global awareness effort, carried out in partnership with a coalition of CML-focused organizations that aims to increase awareness about the need to monitor CML treatment and the right of every patient to know their test results. This year, The Max Foundation and other My PCR partners worldwide are honoring 9/22 by engaging with their physicians through the My PCR “Treat Your Physician” grant initiative. Through My PCR, partners are awarded a grant to create a My PCR themed treat to say THANK YOU to their physicians for their dedication to patients and further open patient – physician dialogues about the role of PCR testing in the monitoring of CML.
Keep an eye out on social media all this week for photos and updates about “Treat Your Physician” activities around the world, and let’s make our voices heard!
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….
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.
Surviving cancer in countries that lack the support and care, the word empowerment is not in patients’ dictionaries. But if we could increase the access to treatment and care in these countries, can we turn the tables?
