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.
Treatment access means so much to us at The Max Foundation because we understand what it means to patients. We know so many people living beyond their cancer diagnoses because of the access we are able to provide. We know the privilege of watching patients grow, get married, start careers, and give back to their communities. While treatment access means the world to us and our patients, there are many who do not realize the freedom, joy, and dignity that comes with access to a daily dose.
The Max Malaysia team recently attended the Malaysian Society of Haematology (MSH) Annual Scientific Meeting. Surrounded by healthcare professionals, patient advocates, pharmaceutical organizations, and more, we thought it was a great opportunity to hear what people gain when they have access to treatment.
So we created a fun way for people to share their thoughts – hundreds of buttons with different answers to the question, “What does treatment access mean to you?” Attendees selected (and sometimes wrote out) words that reflected their thoughts and then pinned them to our display. Watch as delegates at the meeting shared their responses.
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What about you? What does treatment access mean to you and your community? Share your words in the comments below!
This experience with our new friends at the MSH Annual Scientific Meeting showed that everyone has a role in treatment access. We were proud to represent Max at MSH and to showcase the ways treatment access empowers patients around the world.
Mei Ching Ong is the Region Head of Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Mei Ching is based in our regional office located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Although growing up in a town facing the South China Sea with beautiful beaches, she is enjoying mountains, jungles and greens more than water, that explains she is spending most of her early morning during weekends in greens. Believing in everyone is connected with each another in this cycle we call life, Mei Ching also believes everyone has roles to play to strengthen the overall well-being of lives of human.
The journey from experiencing the first symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to finding an effective treatment can be long, difficult, and painful, especially in low- and middle-income countries. That was the case for Chamu from Harare, Zimbabwe. It took him more than a year to get a diagnosis, but he kept fighting and is….
When he was initially diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, Prashant’s first concerns weren’t whether he would be able to afford treatment, it was about how much time he had left…years? Months? Would he be able to complete his degree? Would he be able to care for his father?
But his doctor reassured him. Treatment was available, and before he could worry about the cost of it, Prashant was connected with The Max Foundation and worked on getting enrolled in the access program we administer.
Shalet Souza is a 42-year-old nun at the Institute of Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany, in Mangalore, India. She currently takes care of aspiring nuns and lives a life devoted to learning and supporting others, including the poor and needy in her region. At 29, Shalet sought treatment for frequent fevers, which would….
