Navigating the Healthcare System as a Woman
- Selma Blair was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in October 2018 after suffering with unexplained symptoms like falling, dropping things and memory issues for years. She still struggles with symptoms today.
- As she’s let people in our her health journey, Blair has also tried to bring attention to the “healthcare system that too often ignores women.”
- Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), according to the Mayo Clinic. Most people with MS go through periods of new symptoms or relapses followed by quiet periods of disease remission.
- Sadly, we've heard many stories of women feeling dismissed by doctors. That's why being your own advocate can be key to getting a correct diagnosis and obtaining the best treatment possible while dealing with a diagnosis.
- One cancer survivor told SurvivorNet she recommends asking many questions, so doctors "earn that copay." And one of our experts says any patient should leave every appointment with a plan for what your doctor is going to do for you.
In a recent Instagram post as part of a paid partnership with CVS Pharmacy, Blair talked about the very important topic of “women's health needs.”
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In her caption, she gave even more details about what it can be like to take care of yourself as women whether you have MS or not.
“I've been very open about my health and what's become really clear to me over the last couple of years is that women's health needs are not always heard, even our most basic everyday needs like menstrual health access,” she wrote. “It's tough to advocate for yourself when you feel alone. Especially women.”
Selma Blair's Multiple Sclerosis Battle
Selma Blair was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in October 2018 after suffering with unexplained symptoms like falling, dropping things and memory issues for years.
'Don't Stop Me Now' Is Inspiration for Anybody With Multiple Sclerosis
Rather than keeping her day-to-day challenges private, the actress and filmmaker has decided to share her journey and become a mental health and MS advocate for people everywhere.
For treatment, Blair underwent chemotherapy that caused her temporary hair loss and stem cell treatment.
"The disease modifiers did not work for me at the time, and I was really declining more rapidly than I found acceptable," Selma shared in 2019. "I had no intention of doing it, I was like, I'm not ruining my body, what's left of it. Why would I put this horrible drug, chemotherapy, in me? I don't have cancer. But I was kind of out of options and I was looking.
"I had more chemo than they usually do for cancer patients, because they almost kill you."
And Blair still struggles with symptoms of the disease today as evidenced by her early departure from this season of "Dancing with the Stars." In a video that played prior to her "one last gentle dance" on the show, she explained that recent MRI results forced her to leave the show.
"The results came back, and it just all adds up to I can't go on with the competition," she said in an emotional conversation with her dance partner, Sasha Farber. "There's just intensive bone trauma and inflammation among rips and tears.
"So I could do extensive damage that, of course, I do not want. I'll have to settle in and get back to being a mom and showing them I have to pull back on something that I love doing."
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In an inspiring show of bravery, Blair dedicated her final waltz to "everyone that has tried and hoped that they could do more but also the power in realizing when it's time to walk away."
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system), according to the Mayo Clinic.
SurvivorNetTV Presents: Defying All Odds A World-Renowned Doctor's Incredible Journey Through MS
It causes the immune system to attack the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers which leads to communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, MS can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.
Signs and symptoms of MS can vary widely but may include:
- Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs that typically occurs on one side of your body at a time, or your legs and trunk
- Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, especially bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
- Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
- Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement
- Prolonged double vision
- Blurry vision
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Tingling or pain in parts of your body
- Problems with sexual, bowel and bladder function
Most people with MS go through periods of new symptoms or relapses followed by quiet periods of disease remission. These relapses can develop over days or weeks and the remission periods can last for months or even years.
How to Advocate for Your Health as a Woman
Here at SurvivorNet, we've heard many women talk about how their health concerns were not taken seriously prior to a very serious diagnosis.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, April Knowles explained how she became a breast cancer advocate after her doctor dismissed the lump in her breast as a side effect of her menstrual period. Unfortunately, that dismissal was a mistake.
Knowles was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 39. She said the experience taught her the importance of listening to her body and speaking up when something doesn't feel right.
I Wanted My Doctor To Like Me, Then He Missed My Breast Cancer
"I wanted my doctor to like me," she said. "I think women, especially young women, are really used to being dismissed by their doctors."
Jenny Saldana is another woman who's spoken up about advocating for yourself. She says she was told "you can't keep coming back here taking up resources for women that really need them" when she was trying to get her breast cancer diagnosis.
"The squeaky wheel gets the oil," she said as advice for others.
Advocating For Yourself While Navigating the Medical World
Evelyn Reyes-Beato feels similarly. As a Latina like Saldana and a colon cancer survivor, she urges people to "get knowledge" so they won't feel intimated by their doctors. She wants to remind others that they have a right to ask questions and make physicians "earn that copay."
Dr. Zuri Murrell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet that healthcare guidelines are meant to do the right thing for the largest number of people while using the fewest resources.
"The truth is you have to be in tune with your body, and you realize that you are not the statistic," he said.
Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle
Dr. Murrell says not every patient will "fit into" the mold, so it's important to "educate yourself and be your own health care advocate."
"Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn't work, what the next plan is," Dr. Murrell said. "And I think that that's totally fair. And me as a health professional that's what I do for all of my patients."
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