Advocacy & Policy Episodes

Just about a month ago, 9,600 researchers, clinicians, and representatives from patient advocacy organizations gathered in Barcelona for the European Committee on Treatment and Research in MS annual scientific congress, better known as ECTRIMS, the largest MS research conference in the world. Now that he's had an opportunity to review his notes and digest all of the science presented at ECTRIMS 2025, Dr. Bruce Bebo, the National MS Society's Executive Vice-President of Research, returns to the ...

Living with MS is expensive. Very expensive. It's estimated that the average cost of living with MS is over $88,000 per year. How, in the midst of financial stress and uncertainty, can you formulate a financial plan that takes MS into account? Paula Cole lives with MS, and she also lives with a lot of financial planning savvy. Paula joins the podcast to share tips and strategies for establishing a personal financial plan for you and your family -- even while you're coping with MS. And Beth Sco...

Have you experienced those familiar feelings of frustration when the people closest to you don't seem to get your MS? Do you find yourself explaining and re-explaining things to well-meaning friends, co-workers, and even family members? Kris Inman's wife, Mariah, was diagnosed with MS in 2020, and, since then, Kris has been Mariah's care partner and an active member of the MS community. This week, Kris joins me to talk about overcoming the challenge of helping your friends and family understand...

Every five minutes, someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with MS. But getting that diagnosis can be challenging. And the evidence is clear that early intervention makes a difference. The sooner someone can begin a disease-modifying therapy, the better their outcome is going to be. World MS Day is May 30th, and this year, World MS Day is focused on eliminating the obstacles that get in the way of a timely and accurate diagnosis. I thought World MS Day would be the perfect time to invite ...

Most people living with MS don't see their neurologist often. For many, it might be only once or twice a year. A lot of important things take place during that appointment. Symptoms are assessed. Decisions about disease-modifying therapies are made or, sometimes, changed. Questions get asked and, hopefully, answered. Dr. Barbara Giesser returns to the podcast, this time, to review the things that should be discussed and followed up on at your appointment with your neurologist or MS specialist. ...

Welcome to the 400th episode of RealTalk MS! Over the past nearly eight years, it's been my absolute honor to bring you insights from leading experts, researchers, advocates, and, perhaps most importantly, from people living with MS themselves. And we have no intention of stopping here! We're excited to continue bringing you the information and conversations that matter most to the MS community. In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Tim Coetzee, President and CEO of the National MS Society, looks...

Managing MS means staying focused not only on your MS but also on your overall health. That includes getting routine health screenings to stay ahead of potential complications. Recent research has shown that, compared to healthy people, people with MS are more likely to develop some cancers. Clinician-scientist Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie joins me to discuss which cancers pose a greater risk to someone with MS, why you need to make those appointments for cancer screenings, where you can find low-cost o...

Next week, a couple of hundred MS activists will gather in Washington, D.C. for the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference. As we're seeing devastating cuts in funding for MS research, layoffs in every major governmental agency that impacts our healthcare, including the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, CDC, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and even Medicaid funding is at serious risk, advocacy has never been more important than it is right now. I...

It's MS Awareness Week, and the National MS Society is asking everyone in the MS community to tell MS exactly what they think of it. We're kicking off MS Awareness Week by introducing you to two difference-makers in the MS community who have each found their own way of talking back to MS. Case Jernigan is an experimental animator, narrative gamemaker, and educator. His short animated documentary, Noggin, is currently making the rounds of the film festival circuit, raising awareness of how Case ...

This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by EMD Serono and is only intended for a U.S. audience. EMD Serono is the healthcare business of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the United States and Canada. In this special episode of RealTalk MS, Dr. Mary Rensel and Amanda Montague join me to explore HCP (Healthcare Provider) burnout and patient empowerment; and we'll be taking a close look at how patients and their healthcare providers can work together to support one another. Dr. Mary R...