Viji Venkatesh brings with her 36 years of professional experience in cancer patient care and support in her role as Region Head, India & South Asia at The Max Foundation.
Viji began with The Max Foundation in 2002 by leading the administration of the Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP) in India. Today, she is in charge of the Max Access Solutions (MAS) Programme in the region which has absorbed and taken under its umbrella of management all patients who were receiving support from the earlier programme.
During the last 22 years alongside these access programs, she has developed the Friends of Max (FOM) patient support group, which began in Mumbai and now has 35 local chapters throughout India with over 320 core group volunteer leaders representing more than 18,000 members.
Through the years, Viji has served many community leadership roles in the cancer care arena; including her time as the Asia Coordinator for the International Union against Cancer (UICC) where she developed and led symposiums, workshops and learning programs. She was also instrumental in help setting up the Preventive Oncology Department at Tata Memorial Hospital in 1991, where she has contributed to the renowned institute as an active member of its Ethics Committee.
She is also one of the Executive Committee members of the Marrow Donor Registry India and the Terry Fox India Committee. She is a Trustee of the Being Human The Salman Khan Foundation as well as the Friends of Max Charitable Trust.
In 2009, Viji was awarded the Scroll of Honor for her outstanding contribution in the field of Social Service from the Health Minister of Bihar at the World Cancer Day Celebration in Patna, India.
In 2016 she was awarded the Max Patient Advocacy Award for her relentless efforts in convincing the Government of India to reinstate the Customs Duty waiver on the drug that was the Gift of Life to thousands of CML and GIST patients in India.
In 2014 Viji founded the unique awareness tool and fundraiser Chai for Cancer. In its 11th year now, this campaign has raised more than two and a half crores for supporting CML and GIST patients all over India catering to their many unmet needs.
