聽聽更多MS人的手術經驗吧

MS patients tell MPs about life after 'liberation'

Steve Garvie does a deep knee bend, something he says would have led to him falling over prior to his treatment. Updated: Tue Jun. 01 2010 13:53:30 CTV.ca News Staff

請點選上面的連結看完整的影片！

A group of patients with multiple sclerosis gathered on Parliament Hill Tuesday to testify how a controversial new treatment has changed their lives, as two Liberal MPs reiterated their call for more research.

許多MS病人聚集在Parliament Hill 見證目前這種靜脈擴張手術是如何改變他們的生活的

The patients included Steve Garvie and Lianne Webb, both of whom were profiled in a recent report from CTV's W5.

主角是Steve Garvie and Lianne Webb

Garvie was diagnosed 10 years ago with secondary progressive MS, which left him using a walker most of the time, suffering profound fatigue.

But since he's had what's been dubbed the "liberation treatment" to open up a blocked left jugular vein in this neck, his life has transformed.

He testified to the parliamentary Subcommittee on Neurological Disease Tuesday that he is now able to stand and walk on his own. He told the MPs that he was once suicidal and needed daily care to wash and cook. Now, he has regained his strength and independence.

Steve Garvie證實：他現在能夠獨立自己站立和行走，之前他被診斷為次級退化型MS，需要助行器幫助行動，也需要居家照護服務（洗衣和煮菜），現在他不需要了，能夠自己獨立了！

Liane Webb, who was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS almost 20 years ago, has also been treated for blocked veins, a condition called CCSVI, or chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency.

Webb says she hasn't had an MS attack in the four months since her treatment, and her chronic fatigue has disappeared.

"I go golfing three times a week and I don't take the cart," she says. "I am able to go on bike rides and walks after work with my family now that I have the energy."

Lianne Webb說：20年前，被診斷出反覆發作型MS，手術後4個月都沒有再發作，而且已經不再感到疲倦。現在我一星期可以去打3次高爾夫球，完全不用車子輔助，我能夠在工作後騎腳踏車和走路。

Dr. Sandy MacDonald, the Barrie Ont. doctor who helped diagnose and treat Garvie and Webb, told the committee that the balloon angioplasty used in the liberation treatment is a safe, relatively easy procedure for what he is finding is a common condition.

"I've done scans on almost 200, and greater than 90 per cent have venous anomalies," Dr. MacDonald told MPs.

Dr. Sandy MacDonald醫生說 : 我掃描了約200個MS病患，超過9成的患者靜脈呈現異常

Also Tuesday, two Liberal MPs reiterated their call for federal investment in research on CCSVI.

Liberal public health critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett and health critic Dr. Kirsty Duncan called for the Harper government to invest in MS research, diagnosis and treatment, and to immediately convene a meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss a national approach to funding MS and other diseases of the brain.

"We support the call by the MS Society of Canada and thousands of MS patients across the country who want the Harper government to provide $10 million for research into MS and its potential cause," Duncan said in a news release.

Drs. Duncan and Bennett wrote a letter to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq on May 6 asking for support to research the "liberation treatment." Aglukkaq has yet to respond.

Dr. Duncan has also called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on this issue, but so far those calls have been rejected.

"Liberation treatment centres are popping up daily around the world, and Canada, with one of the highest rates of MS in the world, should be on board," Duncan said. "MS patients and neurologists all agree that well-designed clinical trials must take place as soon as possible."

MS patients have organized numerous petitions calling on the government to fund liberation procedures, and hundreds of patients gathered for a rally on the Hill last month. Bennett noted that a number of MS patients are going overseas for treatment for CCSVI, at their own expense.

"What does this mean for a family who simply does not have the financial resources to do so? We believe that, just as heart patients are treated for blocked arteries, MS patients should also have access to this treatment," Bennett said in a statement.

聽聽更多MS人的手術經驗吧