The Global Patient Support team traveled to Indonesia in early October to exchange knowledge and unite efforts to advance access to patient-centered care that improves quality of life for people with cancer and reduces cancer mortality.
Kristie McComb, managing director of Global Patient Support, was invited by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Republic of Indonesia to serve as a faculty member at the Indonesia International Cancer Conference (IICC 2024) in Bali, Indonesia. Like many other low- and middle-income countries, Indonesia is facing the many challenges posed by a rising incidence of cancer-400,000 new cases annually of which approximately half of people diagnosed do not survive their illness. The MOH is making significant strides to address and mitigate the impact of this disease, including holding the conference and launching their 10-year National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP). Aptly themed "Bridging North and South," the conference aimed to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and expertise between various regions of the world, uniting efforts to advance efforts against the disease.
Following the conference, Kristie presented on patient navigation at a meeting of the Indonesian Radiation Oncology Society. To date, one of the most effective BEACON collaborations is with the national teaching hospital in Jakarta, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM). RSCM’s radiation oncology team is taking an active role in driving the expansion of patient navigation throughout Indonesia by introducing and promoting patient navigation to radiation oncology departments in government-run hospitals. RSCM partners closely with the Cancer Information and Support Center Association (CISC), a highly engaged cancer survivors’ organization that provides non-clinical navigation services to RSCM through survivors working as volunteers and three other hospitals in Jakarta.
Erica Krisel, program manager of global capacity development and patient support, joined Kristie in Jakarta to conduct scoping meetings with various partners, including 10 patient support CSOs, including CISC, to start building engagement and excitement for our new Supporting Patient Navigation Adoption, Replication, and Knowledge Exchange (SPARK) Country Approach, a spinoff of BEACON. SPARK is to be implemented in Indonesia, Kenya, and Nigeria starting in 2025 with anticipated follow-on funding support from the Merck (MSD) Foundation.
