A Support Group Meeting was held on Saturday, 26 April 2025 for CML and GIST patients in Patna. Dinesh Kumar, FOM (Patna) City Chapter Leader was interviewed to share his experience.
Here is what he had to say:
1. How do these gatherings impact individuals, and what emotions surface when connecting with the FOM Community?
Patient Support Group Meetings give patients energy and help them resolve any problems they may be facing in their lives. Feelings of belongingness emerge when one attends these meetings and joins the FOM community.
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?
All patients have gained a lot of experience especially those who have been attending the meetings regularly. Meeting other patients and their families gives us a lot of courage to face our diagnosis. At this meeting the new workshop on Patient Testimonials was very good, where many patients shared their cancer journeys.
3. What would you like to see in future meetings?
I would like to see the FOM banner continuing to fly high. I would like to see it reach new heights and hope FOM continues to do its work well throughout India as well as in the world.
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?
One of our patients is Savita Singh, who is a resident of Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Her life improved a lot after getting GLIVEC 400MG medicine from The Max Foundation. I see her attending all the Bihar meetings. She always expresses her gratitude to FOM, Novartis and The Max Foundation team.
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