31 May 2011

Dr. Jeff Turnbull

President

Canadian Medical Association

1867 Alta Vista Drive

Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 5W8

Dear Dr. Turnbull,

Thank you for your comments on medical tourism reported in The Ottawa Citizen on Saturday, 28 May 2011. We agree with your view that there should not be a need for a private medical tourism industry and that health care policy makers should be focusing their attention on improving the health care system.

We also agree with you that timely access and availability of treatment in Canada would entice Canadians to be treated at home rather than abroad. Unfortunately, Canadians with CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) who also have Multiple Sclerosis are denied access to testing and treatment for this vascular condition because they have Multiple Sclerosis. The preferred treatment is balloon angioplasty, a well-known, low risk treatment that is performed every day in hospitals around the world.

Canadians will continue to seek treatment for CCSVI outside of Canada as long as discrimination against people with Multiple Sclerosis and CCSVI continues. Follow-up care when these Canadians return home will continue to be sporadic to non-existent. Many of us have already experienced this by our Vascular Surgeons, Neurologists and other Doctors in our Province of Saskatchewan and that needs to end.

I write this letter on behalf of our 697 members we have in CCSVI Saskatchewan Facebook Group and we urge the Canadian Medical Association to take a leadership role in ending the discrimination against Canadians with Multiple Sclerosis.

Sincerely,

Michelle Walsh

CCSVI Saskatchewan

________________________________________________________________________________________

Kelly Terry Michelle Walsh Valerie Hoenecke

Director Director Director

ksterry@sasktel.net walshfarm@hotmail.com vhoenecke@hotmail.com