Vygon Asia donates chemo ports to Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital for World Cancer Day 

Penang, Malaysia, February 23, 2022 – Vygon Asia, in conjunction with World Cancer Day, today announces that it has donated 30 Vygon Polysite ISP implantable ports for patients undergoing chemotherapy in Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital. This is Vygon’s third donation, following the last two in 2019 and 2021. Among the 30 donated chemo ports, half are allocated for 2022’s usage and the other half for 2023.

This year, the theme for World Cancer Day was ‘Close the Care Gap’. The chemo port handover session was followed by an awareness walkabout campaign which saw the representatives of Vygon and Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital handing out flyers to the public at Chowrasta Market and Armenian Street to spread awareness. Raising the public and political literacy and understanding around cancer reduces fear, increases understanding, dispels myths and misconceptions, and changes behaviours and attitudes. 

Organized every February 4, World Cancer Day aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer; pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease. World Cancer Day is an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). 

Vygon’s Polysite ISP port is usually used when a patient’s medical treatment requires regular administration of medicines and infusions, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. During the procedure, veins can undergo thinning, which makes locating them to inject medicine and draw blood very difficult, even for qualified medical personnel. With the help of chemo ports, jabbing to locate these very thin veins is reduced. Chemo ports are a pain-free and efficient solution for addressing this issue.

“Surviving this pandemic needs a collaborative effort from the manufacturers, patients and their health care providers to avoid patients being exposed to the infective environment,” said Thanapathy Kumaraiah, regional director, Asia-Oceania, at Vygon. “Therefore, it is more crucial today than ever for Vygon as a manufacturer to work closely together with our doctors and hospitals to provide the best possible care and outcomes for patients with cancer. Building relationships of trust between hospitals, patients and distributors has been an enormous force for growth for Vygon Asia-Oceania.” 

“The pandemic disrupted daily life but it did not stop cancer. Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital believes treatment must continue for cancer patients despite Covid-19. We are very grateful that these medical gifts-in-kind, generously donated by Vygon, enable us to offer free chemo-ports for disadvantaged cancer patients who require frequent administration of chemotherapy drugs. Vygon’s continued charitable effort is truly commendable,” said Joan Lim-Choong, chief executive officer of Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital. “With Vygon as a technology partner, we can support our community with high-quality medical devices that increase comfort, convenience, safety and care for cancer patients.”

About Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital

Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital is a not-for-profit, mission driven, cancer hospital – which aspires to serve all cancer patients regardless of their financial status, belief or nationality, with the best and most affordable cancer treatment and care. Mount Miriam’s vision is that no cancer patient should be denied treatment. We believe that the access to cancer treatment and care must be based on need, not the ability to afford the rising medical cost. Last year, we were able to extend a financial subsidy to 439 patients, amounting to RM1.5 million (€316K, $358K).

www.mountmiriam.com

About Vygon Group

Vygon designs, manufactures and markets high-tech single-use medical devices for healthcare professionals in hospital and for private and independent practitioners. Vygon is a world leader within this industry, offering a wide range of products in a number of clinical specialties. Organized in five business units (Critical Care – Neonatology, Enteral & Obstetrics – Intravascular Therapies – Cardiovascular & Surgery – Pain & Airway Management), Vygon combines local and international in-depth expertise and know-how in each individual field. With expertise right along the value chain, from product design to the delivery of training for medical personnel, Vygon provides health care professionals with effective and innovative products tailored to their needs and those of their patients, for optimum use and safety. The company distributes over 205 million products a year in more than 120 countries through its network of 26 subsidiaries and 331 distributors. Vygon products display the CE and/or FDA mark and are manufactured in the group’s eight factories in Europe, the USA and Colombia. A family company founded in 1962, Vygon is based in Ecouen, in France’s Greater Paris region. It is a mid-sized business employing 2,350 staff worldwide. The turnover in 2020 was €344 million ($393M), with 83% of this derived from Vygon’s international business.

www.vygon.com