Today is World MS Day. MS, as in Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin coating of nerve fibers in the central nervous system. I have had MS for at least 13 years. I am a Fellow and Project Director here at The Institute for Policy Studies. My job is to inform. Today, I'd like to inform you about MS. Here are some facts from MSFacts.org:
* Among young adults, MS is the most common disease of the central nervous system.
* More than 400,000 people in the United States have MS.
* An estimated 2,500,000 around the world have MS.
* About 45 percent of the people with MS are not severely affected by the disease.
* Diagnosis of MS is usually between 20 and 40 years of age.
* MS affects more women than men, with a ratio of 2:1
* About 85 percent of those who are newly diagnosed have the relapsing-remitting form of MS.
* Without disease-modifying therapy, about 50 percent of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will become progressive at 10 years.
* Without disease-modifying therapy, about one-third of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will be using a wheelchair at 20 years.
* Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of MS.
* MS is a progressive disease for which there is not yet a cure.
For many years, none of my colleagues knew I had the disease. It is hard to detect unless debilitating symptoms such as loss of mobility occur. A few years ago, I began to use a cane to walk. I began daily injections of a disease-modifying drug called Copaxaone. Last year, my colleagues and friends helped me to buy a WalkAide which my insurance company, CareFirst, refused to cover. Now, I am on a new "miracle drug" Ampyra, that enables me to walk almost as a "normal" person for several hours a day. I am one of the lucky ones.I have a job and health insurance. I am beating MS rather than MS beating me. If there were universal healthcoverage in the U.S., most of us battling MS would be winning with access to supports such as those I mention. Today, seek out a friend, family member, colleague or acquaintance with MS. Tell her about Amppyra. Ask him if he needs help raising money for a WalkAide or medication. Write to you Senator and Representative and demand Universal HealthCare for All. Tell them to pass a good public jobs bill like The Local Jobs for America Act so that all of us can have decent wages and access to healthcoverage and prescription drugs until we have a Single Payer Universal Healthcare system in this country. We don't need to be in wheelchairs, we need good jobs, good wages and quality affordable healthcare for all. Then we will have beaten MS.
Follow Karen Dolan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/karendolan
See http://csvi-ms.net/en "This website will serve as a platform for the hypothesis of the relation between "Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency" (CCSVI) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The pattern of CCSVI was described by Prof. Zamboni. This website will give an overview and track the development, especially scientific publications and media coverage. As discussion forum we recommend the CCSVI http://www.thisisms.com/forum-40.html. "