CML & GIST Support Group Meeting, Hyderabad-13th September 2019

Hyderabad Core group members, Viji and Sudha were the first to arrive and got busy with arrangements right away – Banners were being put up, stage arrangements were being taken care of and registration of participants, and of course photo ops happening alongside J. Light snacks and Chai were arranged for everyone. We had a great turnout of around 73 people.

The day’s program got underway at 10am with a Welcome speech by Sudha, followed by a briefing of The Max Foundation by Viji Venkatesh. Sailaja and Usha talked about the formation of Friends of Max in Hyderabad and shared their experience about how they have benefited from FOM meetings.

Dr. Senthil Rajappa, Dr. Krishna Mohan and Dr. Nikhil were next up with a brief talk on CML and patiently answered all queries from the patients on disease management. Physicians emphasized on the importance of compliance and monitoring response to the therapy for best clinical management of CML patients.

What followed next was an interesting quiz show, wherein all the participants were divided into four different color codes and quiz session held to test their knowledge of CML. It was a very informative and interactive quiz about the basics of CML, with an enthusiastic response from the audience.

We had a small session on patient testimonials, which would tremendously help the new patients cope with their diagnosis and deal with their treatment.

Closure of meeting with a vote of thanks by Pramod Aggarwal, followed by Lunch.

Simultaneously there was the “Chai for Cancer” adda happening in the reception area of the Indo American Hospital. Dr. Senthil Rajappa, Dr Krishna Mohan and a host of other doctors from IACI joined in and donated to the good cause, as also the general public.

Reported by Sailaja Kosuri

FOM City Chapter Leader, Hyderabad