24 Hours in Bangkok

It was a quick stay in Bangkok. I was already back home last night - landing just before midnight. And back to work already today, and would be on call tomorrow.

But the trip was a great one, able to meet up with old contacts although I was late to arrive on Saturday evening, hence not able to join the group for a sumptuous feast prepared by the generous Thai host! I had to make do with bland hotel food instead which was a shame!

On arrival at Bangkok AirportFinal touches on the slidesI woke up early on Sunday, and was able to have my morning walk around the area my hotel while people were still getting into their early Sunday morning routine. Stopped for a coffee before turning back, ready for my part of the symposium.

Talks before and after lunch, followed by some discussion. Then it was already time to pack up and leave. The rest of the group had been there for the past three days and almost had enough. Too much information as it was my part to introduce the concept of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia in a group who advocates for patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. It could be a tough sell!

It's my turnLet's get out of here!Sunday evening traffic in Bangkok had been kind and I was able to reach the airport early for my flight home. Wished that I could stay longer. I could only pick some gifts for Anita at the airport my schedule was such.

Morning Session

The sight which greeted me that Sunday morningFinally it came my turn to participate in the patient support group discussion. My topic was to facilitate the discussion in a small group in Malay medium. Yes, finding the right terms and pitching your message at the right level can be tricky at times. You don’t want to appear too overbearing, but at the same time you want to move the audience forward in terms of their understanding of their disease. The fact that some of the participants were newly diagnosed, compared to some who had been coming to these events for the past few years, finding the happy medium was a challenge. But there was where the fun lies.

Ms Tan Pei Lin, Pharmacist from UMMCThe session started very early for a Sunday morning. So kudos to all the participants. We kicked off with an overview of how best to take their medications - we were talking about Glivec here. It was ably delivered by our own UMMC’s Clinical Pharmacist, Ms Tan Pei Lin. She has only been dealing Glivec for me in the last couple of months, but has been with us for a lot longer. The talk was very easy to follow, and judging from the response from the crowd, it was very well received. My only comment to the organiser was we should have had the Q&A session straight after the talk rather than pushing on with the next talk. By allowing some questions, things would have been still fresh and discussion could’ve been more focus. If we wait until later, the momentum may have been lost.

Dr Xavier from Hospital AmpangThe next talk was by Dr Xavier Sim from Ampang Hospital. His talk was more clinical-based, mainly about the molecular side of the disease and the importance of compliance to Glivec. Some of the points were quite technical for the audience but he took them to task to explain those points in details and in laymen’s term. Yes, it was way above the head of some audience, while for others it may have been merely a revision, stressing the point of the difficulty in finding the right pitch. I was pretty sure however that there were many messages for the audience to take home. It will at least stimulate some curiosity in them for the next session, when the group were broken into smaller ones, mainly into Malay, English and Mandarin medium.

I was taking notes of course ... while updating the twitter on @haemummc The souvenir, a hand-painted artwork by Encik Sahimi, a CML patient and founding member of MaxFamilyIt took a while for the discussion to get going but when it did, oh boy! Pei Lin, the Pharmacist had to move between the three group to take on some more direct question concerning drug interaction and similar issues. Before we knew it, it was already mid day. We then had the customary photo session and the obligatory handing over of souvenir. I had to start my journey back home after lunch, and it was already raining heavily then. The rest of participants from KL wold be taking a bus at 2pm. I made it to KL by 5pm, stuck in the jam after Seremban. I wonder how the rest of the group got on.

Checking in

After dinner, I joined up with the rest of the participants for the evening session. It was conducted by a professional motivational speaker from Melaka, Encik Baba. The session we had concerned self-confidence and handling pressure in face of cancer, which was easy to follow and rather entertaining. What was obvious was the willingness of the participants to open up. Their enthusiasm was infectious and even though they were of different race, there was no barrier. Even though I was familiar to most of the techniques on show, it takes skill to get the message across to a group of different races.

Encik Baba trying to burst her balloonIt was time for bedI was too tired to stay for the whole session. Some of the segments required the participants to interact with each other and that took some time. I left to my room - which was on the top floor when they were about to close the session. I went to survey the rest of the hotel before returning to my room. When I was writing this entry, United was leading Blackburn 3 nil, and they had only just played half an hour. I was able to watch the game in my room. I have an early start tomorrow morning, plus the drive back to KL. Will blog about the hotel later when I have more picture of the place.

Clips

Spent the morning editing out the video featuring one of my patients for a patient support group meet at Hospital Ampang later today. The whole process went well without any hiccups. Previously I was more versed with Final Cut Pro rather than iMovie. Clearly using the latest tweak made iMovie just as feature-laden as Final Cut, well at least to the amateurs like myself.

File transfer from my 7D was faster than I expected even though I shot the clips in 1080p. The main drawback was synchronising the audio. Final Cut definitely have more precision tools on board. Otherwise, transition, audio fading and lower-thirds went without a hitch. Exporting was also quite easy as everything was integrated in the iLife suite. I used iDVD for the final output and am now enjoying the output on screen.

Now I have to go through the clips I shot during the recent Raya trip.

MaxFamily

The concept of patient-driven support group is still alien unfortunately in Malaysia. As I elaborated in previous posts, it was much to do with the taboo of cancer in our society. Patient still feel the shame and stigma of being labelled cancer sufferer and often suffer in silence. They retreat into their shell. Change in attitude cannot come soon enough and the moment I heard about the formation of a support group for Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia back in 2006, I jumped in to offer support pretty quickly. MaxFamily was born then, through the initiative of patients living with CML, who came together since the drug used to treat this form of cancer was provided by the Pharmaceutical giant, Novartis via an international NGO, the Max Foundation.

Tony with his guitarSince the Max Foundation supervise the provision and distribution of the said drug, Glivec, it was only natural for them to offer support for their clients. From this, the impetus for the formation of MaxFamily was seeded. The society has grown from strength to strength, much through the hard work and effort of the MaxStation Coordinator Miss Ong Mei Ching, ably supported by the committee members of the MaxFamily, and their President, Dr Razak, an Orthopaedic Surgoen and CML patient who is also on the medication.

The MaxFamily organises regular meetings, as a forum for patients and caregivers to learn more about their disease and also offer peer support especially to new patients. Their assistance has proven valuable and I am sure many of the members benefited greatly from such meet. Over the years, I was lucky enough to participate in their events, either as a speaker or facilitator. I even insisted on a few occasions to be present even if was not invited. I think they got the hint and decided to invite me this time …..

Their last meet was held at Shangri-La last Saturday, in conjunction with the ASEAN Federation of Haematology meeting held on the days previously. I participated in the public forum but the highlight of the show was most definitely the talk given by Dr Alan Teh. We were concerned at the beginning that the talk may be too technical, but it proved to be pitched just right, initiating a great Q&A session before the break. As Glivec has been proven to be a potent agent to control the disease, Dr Teh highlighted the importance of disease monitoring. He laid down the justification of regular check-ups and tests, how to deal with the known side-effects of the drugs and the alternatives should the drug fail. He also eluded to the fact that the drug was stopped, CML may return and patients may become ill again.

The forum came after the break, the panel being myself, Mr PT Teoh, a patient and Puan Jamaliah, wife of a CML sufferer. The session was mediated by Dr Razak. It addressed expectations issues and the often overlook psychological aspect of the diagnosis. I have to admit that the current state of affairs in terms of consultations may not be ideal but in light of the pressures of time and burden of work, the doctors looking after the patients with CML in general were doing the best that they can. We are certainly moving towards the age of patient autonomy, but the power can only be put in good use with good patient education and understanding by the Physicians. 

Dr Alan Teh, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of Max Foundation, Ms Ong Mei Ching of MaxStation Malaysia and myselfPicture taken on previous meeting held at Hospital Ampang last OctoberAfter the serious discussion, came the fun. One of the MaxFamily member, Tony, is a local artist and has written a moving song about the Foundation, which he sang on the day. All together, it was a good session although I was hoping the turnout to be a bit better than it was. For more informations on the MaxFamily or CML treatment in general, please click here to land on the MaxFamily website.