NEWS RELEASE
Multiple Sclerosis Patients Denied Treatment in Canada
(Fredericton, New Brunswick, March 23, 2011) – The “Beyond MS Association of Canada” is planning an education, advocacy and fundraising tour to begin on Canadian CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) Awareness Day, May 5, 2011. The “New Hope for Multiple Sclerosis 2011 Canada Tour” will share personal accounts of how a treatment (venous angioplasty) for CCSVI has given multiple sclerosis (MS) patients a new lease on life.
CCSVI is a condition marked by limited blood flow from the major veins that drain the central nervous system. The reduced blood flow from the brain and spinal cord is caused by collapsed or blocked veins and is treated by venous angioplasty. Although the connection between CCSVI and MS is not yet fully understood, the results experienced by MS sufferers who have received this treatment are remarkable.
Venous angioplasty is still experimental in Canada. The federal government has taken the position that evidence is lacking to support it as a viable treatment for MS. In spite of the controversy surrounding this treatment, more than 10,000 people worldwide have received venous angioplasty including Tim Donovan, the Tour’s spokesperson. Donovan left Canada for venous angioplasty in 2010. The improvements to his health were almost immediate and life changing. In addition to improved mobility Tim experienced enhanced balance and cognitive functioning.
Donovan has been successfully sharing his story in New Brunswick and plans to continue across Canada with a team of volunteers who are helping to organize the Tour; “seeing is believing”, he says. Informative rallies are being planned in major cities and towns, from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia.
400 Canadians die each year due to MS complications. This number does not include those who have given up on their fight as the suicide rate for MS patients is seven times the national average. There is an urgent need to voice the MS community’s concerns and raise the Canadian publics’ awareness of venous angioplasty which presently represents the most effective means of treating CCSVI and consequently MS.
The “Beyond MS Association of Canada” is a national charity that has advocated for MS sufferers since 1997. The “New Hope for Multiple Sclerosis 2011 Canada Tour” is its latest venture in the hopes of making testing, treatment and follow-up care widely available in Canada. This Tour is being sponsored by Canadian businesses and individuals who have joined their voices and resources to make a difference and give “New Hope” to the MS community in Canada.
For more information or to get involved please contact:
Tim Donovan
President, "New Hope for Multiple Sclerosis 2011 Canada Tour"
Director, “Beyond MS Association of Canada”
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