A Support Group Meeting was held on 30 August 2025 for CML and GIST patients in Bengaluru at Ramaiah Institute of Oncosciences, A centre of excellence at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital. Roopa Mahesh, FOM (Bengaluru) City Chapter Leader (CCL) was interviewed to share her experience. Here is what she had to say:
1. How do these gatherings impact individuals, and what emotions surface when connecting with the FOM Community?
Gatherings with the FOM Community and the CCL group along with patients and their caregivers always have a powerful impact on individuals, emotionally, mentally, and socially. Personally, it’s difficult to put into words the deep sense of belonging I feel — from the very first call inviting patients to our group meetings, to the heartfelt goodbyes we share after meaningful conversations and the privilege of connecting with our doctors.
2. Now it has been 20 years since we have been doing patient support group meetings, how do you think the meetings have evolved, what are the new changes in the discussions and workshops that you are seeing?
Over the past two decades, our patient support group meetings have grown from simple gatherings into deeply enriching spaces for healing, learning, and connection. While the heart of our mission — creating a supportive community for patients and caregivers— remains unchanged, the way we approach these gatherings has evolved significantly.
3. What would you like to see in future meetings?
As we look to the future, there’s so much potential to deepen the impact of our gatherings — both in the lives of individual patients and within the FOM and CCL community. Here are a few things I would love to see in future meetings:
Expanded Mental Health Support: We should continue to bring in trained mental health professionals regularly — whether for group therapy sessions, one-on-one consultations, or workshops on coping strategies — this I feel would help to address an often-overlooked aspect of healing.
Collaborations Beyond Medicine: Bringing in more voices from nutritionists and/or physiotherapists can help patients navigate every facet of life — not just treatment.
Balancing Innovation with Human Connection:
While continued innovation — through apps, online forums, and AI-powered tools (Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms)— offers exciting opportunities to evolve, stay connected, and personalize support between meetings, it’s equally important to preserve the human touch. Many members of our current patient group are not active on platforms like Facebook or Instagram hence making face-to-face interaction and personal outreach is most essential. For them, connection happens not through screens, but through conversation, empathy, and presence — and that also remains at the heart of what we do and the aim of every Patient meeting. So how can we as a community of CML patients and caregivers stay connected between these meetings beyond social media, is something that we can think of.
Simple & Direct: When we CCL group starts calling to invite the patients and caregivers for the meeting, we could incorporate a brief check-in or survey to understand what patients are hoping to gain from the meetings. Gathering their expectations in advance would allow us to design more relevant, meaningful, and patient-centered programs.
4. In your experience with Support Group meetings, can you share a specific instance where you witnessed a notable impact or positive outcome for a patient?
In my experience with support group meetings over the years, one particular instance stands out as a powerful reminder of why these gatherings matter so deeply.
During the meeting in the Q&A session with several oncologists, one of the panelists gave a compelling talk about the importance of medication adherence. She didn’t just share the clinical rationale — she spoke with empathy, using simple, relatable language to explain how consistent treatment directly impacts long-term outcomes.
What followed was even more powerful — other patients began sharing their personal journeys. One spoke of how staying on treatment helped them reach remission, while another shared tips on how they managed side effects. One of the lady patients who initially had spoken of not being very compliant to her daily medicine, after hearing this became visibly emotional, and by the end of the session, she committed to following her treatment plan more consistently.
Special thanks to Dr Mouna & Dr Nishil Gowda for going beyond their presentation slides to truly engage with patients and their caregivers, helping them understand the critical role compliance and regular monitoring tests play in the journey of a CML patient. The outcome of their effort was visible to all.
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