Past Episodes

We're into the final few days of National Family Caregivers Month, and my guest on the podcast is Scott Williams, Vice President, Head of Global Patient Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships at EMD Serono. We're talking with Scott about EMD Serono's commitment to MS caregivers. We're also talking about creating a caregiver protocol that becomes part of the conversation in the neurologist's office as soon as someone is newly diagnosed with MS. We'll tell you about the FDA's new warning about stopp...

I've received some great questions from some of my listeners. And this week, Cherie Binns, an Internationally Certified MS Nurse and the co-chair of the iConquerMS Research committee, is joining me to answer listener questions. She's even going to share some of her tips for living well with MS! We'll also explain why the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to sports arenas, but not to your doctor's office. We'll tell you about an outdoor adventure organization for young adults with cancer t...

Patient-centered research is based on an understanding that patients themselves have unique perspectives that can help to mold, change, and improve the work of finding answers to clinical questions. My guest on the podcast is Laura Kolaczkowski, the co-Principal Investigator for iConquerMS. We're talking about the impact this people-powered research network is having on MS research, and how the first ever patient-driven MS drug development project came about. We'll also help you wade through th...

Caregiving carries a lot of challenges. And for some people, it can feel overwhelming. So, what are the things that make being a caregiver for someone living with a chronic illness like MS so challenging? We're kicking off National Family Caregivers Month with my guest, Dr. Amy Sullivan, Director of Behavioral Medicine, Research and Training at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic, and we're talking about how to best navigate some of the challenges that go along with...

Cognitive dysfunction can profoundly affect people living with MS, yet it's frequently overlooked and left untreated. That's why the National MS Society convened a working group of world-class experts to explore how cognitive dysfunction was being assessed and to develop a set of guidelines designed to improve the process of cognitive screening and management in MS care. My guest is Dr. John DeLuca, the Senior Vice-President of Research & Training at the Kessler Foundation, and the co-author of...

We're 2 weeks away from an event that's going to have an impact on every person in the United States who's living with MS...or any other chronic illness. Because in 2 weeks time - on November 6th - an election's taking place, and healthcare is on the ballot. Maybe not directly...maybe not explicitly...but make no mistake, the choices that voters in America make on election day are going to have a huge affect on our access to healthcare, the cost of healthcare, and the protection that exists toda...

I'm back from Berlin, Germany, where I attended the 34th annual ECTRIMS Congress, and the single biggest challenge that I faced during the 3-day conference was trying to decide which sessions I wanted to attend. With 80 live presentations, more than 1,000 poster presentations, and any number of meetings and even casual conversations that seem to pop up everywhere, it's challenging trying to take it all in. Although ECTRIMS has ended, there's still a bit more to report from the conference, so ple...

It's the 3rd and final day at ECTRIMS in Berlin! Today, we're taking you to a special documentary screening that we've been keeping under wraps! (You can watch the trailer as part of the "Bonus" content in the RealTalk MS app!) We're talking about the amazing changes in almost every aspect of how we look at MS that have all taken place within just 25 years. We'll walk you through a couple of the scientific sessions that really stood out earlier today. And we'll tell you how you can find scienti...

It's Day 2 at ECTRIMS in Berlin! Today, we're talking about the Shift.ms booth in the Exhibition Hall, where you can take part in a virtual reality demonstration of what it might be like to accomplish even the simplest tasks if you're living with MS. And if you've downloaded the RealTalk MS app from the Apple App Store for iOS or the Google Play Store for Android, I hope you enjoy the bonus video of the virtual reality demonstration that I shot on the Exhibition Hall floor. I wanted to get an ...

Greetings from Day 1 at ECTRIMS in Berlin! Today, we're talking about pharmaceutical company Novartis seeking approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for siponimod, a once-daily oral medication that significantly reduces disability progression for people living with secondary progressive MS. This is important news, as 80% of the people living with relapsing remitting MS are eventually diagnosed with secondary progressive MS. And currently, there is no...