Advocacy & Policy Episodes

It's MS Awareness Week and we're talking with two remarkable women, Sarah Quezada and Tracey Cooper-Harris, who are living their lives out loud, refusing to let MS define them. We're also inviting you to participate in the first-ever RealTalk MS Listener Survey (and be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon Gift Card!). We'll share research announced at the recent ACTRIMS Forum that explores whether we may be headed toward Cognitive-Dominant MS. We're also talking about how the National MS ...

When it comes to accessing care and even the disease course itself, MS is not an equal-opportunity disease. We're talking with Dr. Mitzi Joi Williams about the disparities that affect members of minority populations who are living with MS. Dr. Williams is a Board-Certified Neurologist and Multiple Sclerosis Specialist who is passionate about educating and empowering people affected by MS to understand the disease process and the goals of treatment. And Dr. Williams is an expert in understanding...

Welcome to a bonus ACTRIMS Forum 2021 episode of RealTalk MS. ACTRIMS is an acronym that stands for the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and this year, the ACTRIMS Forum is a virtual meeting, bringing together over 1700 MS research scientists and clinicians to share the latest MS research news and insights. We'll take you inside the proceedings at ACTRIMS and share highlights from some of the most compelling presentations. And I'm sitting down to talk with th...

The National MS Society has issued its initial COVID-19 vaccine guidance for people living with MS and we're covering every detail of this anxiously awaited and important announcement. We're also taking a look back with Dr. Barbara Giesser at some of the things that made life better for people living with MS in 2020. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! National MS Society releases COVID-19 vaccine guidance for people living with MS 1:44 Some of the things that made li...

Research creates the future for people affected by MS. And clinical research can't happen without your participation. Joining me as my guest is Sara Loud, the CEO of iConquerMS, the people-powered-research network that puts you at the center of MS research. We're also celebrating a whole list of MS advocacy wins that will translate into making life better for people living with MS in the United States. We'll tell you about a study that clearly demonstrates why it's essential to start disease-m...

Every day, 12 more Canadians are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Facing one of the highest MS rates in the world, spread across a geographically large country, the MS Society of Canada is the only national voluntary organization in Canada that supports cutting-edge MS research while providing services and support to more than 90,000 people living with MS. Joining me as my guest is Dr. Pamela Valentine, who is not only the president & CEO of the MS Society of Canada but also a multi-award win...

One of the very few bright spots to emerge during the COVID-19 pandemic is the overall effectiveness and efficiency of telemedicine. And although people living with MS and their doctors have largely hailed telemedicine as a success, there are significant obstacles to overcome before it can become a permanent part of our healthcare system. My guest is Mei Wa Kwong, the Executive Director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, and we're talking about the things that need to happen to ensure t...

MS patients experience better treatment outcomes when they actively participate in their own care. And that requires high health literacy. One of my guests is health literacy expert Dr. Kalina Sanders and we're talking about how being an informed patient can have a significant impact on the healthcare you receive. A well-rounded MS treatment plan will include wellness practices like making smart food choices and adding exercise to your routine. But making changes to our health behaviors is chal...

Conversations about MS almost always get around to the high cost of MS disease-modifying therapies. Joining me on the podcast is the CEO of Genentech, Alexander Hardy. Genentech is a biotech company that many of you know as the manufacturer of Ocrevus, the first approved disease-modifying therapy that treats both relapsing-remitting MS and primary progressive MS. During our wide-ranging conversation, Alexander and I get into the cost of MS prescription medications, the real costs of bringing a ...

Over the past several weeks, the United States has been forced to re-visit, re-examine, and reconsider its own history of racial inequality. This difficult but necessary national conversation has been driven by instances of racial injustice that have their origins in much broader systemic or institutional racism. Our conversations on RealTalk MS typically focus on multiple sclerosis research and multiple sclerosis care. So how does the subject of racial inequality find its way onto today's episo...