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Asia Pacific

Our Reach in Asia Pacific
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Our Reach in Asia Pacific

Within Asia Pacific, we are actively partnering with governments, industry, and physicians to enable treatment access in multiple disease areas. Through these collaborations, our team has organized more than 100 disease-specific educational events in partnership with Max Family, the local support arm of The Max Foundation. These win-win multi-sector partnerships have one single focus: the well-being of each patient and their family.

—Mei Ching Ong, Region Head for Asia Pacific

Vision for Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is a region with rich diversity – from its culture, languages, and lifestyles to healthcare systems. Today, we see many countries with advanced medical facilities, and yet, many that do not have basic diagnostic capacities or treatment options available. Many patients are required to travel many miles and hours to a distant center for help.

The Max Foundation’s vision for Asia Pacific is to bring treatment access and support to all of the countries in Asia Pacific in order to help people living with cancer throughout Asia Pacific. Our efforts range from working with governments, industries, healthcare practitioners, advocates, and patient groups to individual patients and community members.

We have seen how sharing best practices with our partners – especially among advocates in the region – has resulted in tremendous impact within local communities. By working hand-in-hand with key stakeholders invested in the process, we yield positive results and get closer to our goal.

Our team is committed to strengthening our partnerships, educating communities, and broadening access to treatment and support for all people living with cancer in Asia Pacific.

Max Schooling Project: Malaysia

Through our work in Malaysia, The Max Foundation noticed a significant number of children of patients were struggling in their education due to financial constraints. This largely overlooked problem has no established assistance for help within Malaysia.

The Max Schooling Project (or Sambung Sekolah in Malay) was initiated by the Hematology Department of Hospital Ampang in partnership with The Max Foundation and the Max Family Society, the local patient support arm of The Max Foundation. The Max Schooling Project aims to identify children of patients who need financial help in order to continue schooling.

Through the Max Schooling Project, hospital physicians refer children to The Max Foundation’s Malaysia team. The Max Foundation matches children with an ‘adopter’ who coordinates financial assistance on a monthly basis for the child. The Max Foundation carries out regular follow-up contact with the enrolled child and their family to provide support, including emotional touches.

The Max Schooling Project was piloted in 2014 and received positive feedback from all key partners and community. Currently, there are more than 70 children are enrolled in Max Schooling, and the program continues to expand.

Read the November 2020 Max Schooling Project Progress Report

Asia Pacific Workshops

Being diagnosed with cancer is not a choice. However, one can choose on how to face and cope with cancer after a diagnosis. Our patient workshop initiative aims to provide disease education and emotional support by creating a platform for people affected by cancer to come together – including patients, caregivers, physicians, other relevant experts, in order to share, learn and cope. The power of education, the power of being supported by others, and the power of knowing one is not alone in the cancer journey is crucial to having a good quality of life while facing cancer.

Malaysia

The patient workshop in Malaysia are organized by the Max Malaysia team, in partnership with Max Family Society Malaysia – the patient support arm of The Max Foundation in Malaysia. Key opinion leaders and physicians in hematology and oncology always participate in patient workshops – attending the workshop, spending their time with the patients, and contributing their expertise by addressing questions from patients and caregivers.

In Malaysia, patient workshops include disease education by physicians, training on non-disease topics such as on exercise and nutrition, and creating networking opportunities among all participants.

Philippines

Through partnering with key physicians as well as the patient community and supporters, we aim to increase disease awareness, how it’s treated, and the importance of monitoring with the goal of contributing to better compliance rates and better treatment outcome within these disease areas.

The workshops also aim to allow greater connection between patients to share coping mechanism on living with cancer.

Starting 2016, our team in the Philippines will bring CML patient education workshops in other region besides Metro Manila, in partnership with Touched by Max, the local patient support group.

Thailand

Peer-to-peer support and disease education are core components of The Max Foundation’s work in Thailand. To this end, monthly patient support workshops for people living with chronic diseases are hosted by The Max Foundation in partnership with local physicians and MaxSmiles, the patient support arm of The Max Foundation in Thailand.

These gatherings provide a valuable opportunity to build community for people facing cancer in Bangkok. Hematologists often attend these meetings to provide education and support. Due to the success of the Bangkok patient support workshops, the meeting has expanded to the regions of Chiang Mai in northwestern Thailand and Udonthaniin northeastern Thailand.

Asia Pacific Regional Office

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Contact Us

Stories from Asia Pacific

Read the latest blog posts from Asia Pacific.

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