Using a Teachable Moment to Build Resilience
- Actress Selma Blair, 51, is apologizing for offending some of her supporters within the Muslim community for a misstatement she made in a social media post regarding the ongoing Middle East conflict.
- Blair also lives with multiple sclerosis, which is a disease of the brain and central nervous system that causes numbness or weakness in the limbs, fatigue, lack of coordination, blurry vision, and unsteady gait.
- Blair turned to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) (also called bone marrow transplantation) to help treat her MS. This form of therapy helps “reset the immune system.”
- Research published in Frontiers in Neurology in 2022 cited several studies and clinical trials showing promise in helping MS patients manage their condition. One study found that “83% of patients” who underwent a bone marrow transplant were left with “no evidence of disease” within just two years.
“I’m going to go horseback riding,” Blair said in her Instagram post.
Read MoreView this post on InstagramThe short video clip shows Blair riding a white horse around a stable. She’s then seen playing with her dog afterward.
Blair has had her horse named “Mr. Nibbles” for several years. Her love for horses goes back to her childhood. She says she often begged her mom for horseback riding lessons.
“When I bought Nibbles…it was my biggest investment in myself,” Blair said in a previous Instagram post.
When she started experiencing MS symptoms more intensely, including “the proprioception issues, inability to sit still, spasms, twitches, jerks,” her horse helped her cope.
Helping Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Resources
Understanding Blair’s Disease
Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to send messages to the body’s arms, legs, and other parts to function normally.
Symptoms often associated with multiple sclerosis may include numbness, tingling, or sudden limb weakness that affects just one side of the body. Common symptoms include vision problems, lack of coordination, unsteady gait, and fatigue.
There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.
WATCH: ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ Is Inspiration for Anybody With Multiple Sclerosis
Common tools MS patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces, and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).
A study in American Family Physician found that DMTs “has been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”
DMTs help stave off attacks of the disease and prevent relapses, which are triggered when the central nervous system becomes inflamed.
The drug mitoxantrone, which has been used as a DMT, is currently the only chemotherapeutic agent approved for the treatment of MS in the United States. An injection is usually given once every three months for about two to three years. The drug only helps control the disease and does not cure it.
While chemotherapy is widely known as a cancer treatment, it is also effective at slowing down or stopping disease activity in MS.
Blair underwent chemotherapy as part of her treatment for MS. She shared a photo on her Instagram post-chemotherapy of her hair regrowth after losing it during treatment, a common side effect of chemotherapy.
“A large amount of our chemotherapies do cause hair loss, not all of them,” Vivian Rusziewicz, a Nurse Practitioner for Ohio Health, told SurvivorNet.
“Generally, in terms of hair loss, it would begin about three weeks, three to four weeks, after your first chemotherapy treatment. Generally, people will start to see some regrowth about four to six weeks after their last treatment. As long as you aren’t being treated with another medication that might cause hair loss,” Rusziewicz added.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you are facing a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, you may be interested in learning more about treatment options to help you best manage your symptoms. Below are some questions to help kickstart a conversation with your doctor for solutions.
- What forms of treatment do you believe would be most effective based on my MS symptoms?
- Are there any side effects I should expect if I started the recommended treatment?
- How likely am I to be eligible for HSCT chemotherapy to help treat my MS?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.