Using Greed To Our Benefit

To steal the words of a fellow blogger and CCSVI advocate Marcel Gignac: "I tell the truth about Multiple Sclerosis. Every MS Specialist became one by studying books written by doctors that interpreted what patients told them. Therefore, the only expert can be the patient. I AM AN MS EXPERT."

If you have MS then you are also an expert. I am not, however an expert on CCSVI by any means. To date, there is not one being on this planet that can make that claim. I have studied CCSVI research and anecdotal evidence since I first heard of Dr. Zamboni back in November 2009.I can tell you everything about my treatment and my subsequent improved health and well being. My belief in the benefits of this treatment spurred me to reach out to other MS patients wanting to know more about CCSVI treatments and where to get them. When I was first treated almost a year ago on March 30, 2010 in Katowice, Poland there weren't many other clinics performing this treatment so my options were limited. I do not regret going to Poland and I am happy to report that the balloon angioplasty and stent implantation in my jugulars has been a success without complications of re-stenosis, thrombosis, clots or stent migration. To the trained, blinder wearing neurological mind, I am enjoying a remission.

Currently,the field of CCSVI research and treatment goes hand in hand. While we are being treated we are also the subjects of the ongoing research. This is the double edged sword that we are cut by if we choose to be treated at this time. Dr's cant tell us what to expect after treatment. There are no guarentees that it helps MS. The only thing we do know is that poor or complete lack of proper venous drainage from the brain is unhealthy! At the minimum this treatment alleviates that issue. My self appointed job as a CCSVI advocate would be all roses if this was my only obstacle. Initially, when I first started writing my blog I naively believed that clots, stents, thrombosis and re-stenosis were the only enemy. The real and one true foe of CCSVI treatment in Canada is GREED.

Greed will never be defeated and we exhaust our resources when we try. The US has used greed to their advantage because their medical system allows private practices to perform the treatments and as more American Interventional Radiologists discover this new and extremely lucrative (Cha!Ching!) field of CCSVI treatment, more clinics will pop up. This is where it gets very grey for us Canadians, however. How does a person know if the US clinic really knows what they are doing? Any clinic will read off it's credentials to you and assure you they are experts. What is really the truth and what is hyperbole? Do we really know? We can listen to testimonials of other patients and hope. The additional obstacle to this leap of faith is a huge price tag attached and the possibility of having to undergo more expensive treatments due to re-stenosis or under-treatment. The other side of the coin is a lack of after care. If you live in Ontario or Alberta you can be helped by a panel of government appointed neurological experts. Like I said, lack of after care.

Unfortunately, this is all we have as Canadians with MS and CCSVI dealing from within a socialistic nightmare of a health system. As an MS expert I say this is absolutely unacceptable and I demand better of our country for myself and all it's people now and for the generations to come. Perhaps the time has come for Canada to adopt the two tiered health care system? It would allow for private practice Dr's to perform CCSVI treatment in our own country. Treatment would lead to proper follow up care. The MS Society would be completely and blissfully out of the CCSVI equation for good.(The proponents of two-tier system argue that it would introduce more flexibility into the system, reducing wait lists and that competition from the private sector would make the public one more efficient.) It is true that many folks cannot afford private care, but we have been raising money to send people to the states and overseas, so why not continue to raise money but have the treatment at home in Canada? You cant win against greed so why not use it to our advantage? I know that many Canadian Dr's are chomping at the bit to start treating CCSVI but are, regrettably, unable to step up.

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