MS Researchers Speak Out: - Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

More Than 30 Years of Progress
in the Fight Against MS
What do you want your legacyto be?
Second
in a Series
In just over three decades, MS research has
advanced by leaps and bounds, dramatically
improving prognoses for patients in Canada,
and around the world. Just a few of the
critically important developments in the
field of MS include:
Spring/Summer 2013
MS Researchers Speak Out:
Your Role is Key
Some of the extraordinary scientists devoting their energies to MS research have a personal connection to
the disease. For others, an academic exercise became a passion. Working in a lab, they observed a successful
experiment or encountered a supervisor whose dedication inspired them to join the fight to defeat MS.
Whatever their path, they’re grateful to the legacy donors whose spirit of hope enables their research and
creates the potential for a vastly improved future for those living with MS and their families.
Joshua Lee,
PhD Studentship
University of
British Columbia
The passion:
The challenge of bringing
clarity to the perplexing
research questions
posed by MS drew me
to the field of MS. The
ongoing progress of discovery and a tremendously
collaborative spirit among MS researchers
and clinicians in Canada only strengthen my
determination.
The research:
Our research focuses on MS and related disorders
in special clinical populations, and more specifically,
the relative contribution, interaction, and timing
of genetic and environmental factors that
determine MS risk. The goal is to develop
more effective therapies and continue on the
quest for a cure.
The perspective:
It is an incredible privilege to be part of an inspiring
movement that brings hope to those living with or
impacted by MS. I am profoundly grateful for the
support of the MS Society of Canada, its dedicated
staff and volunteers, and above all, its generous
donors, without whom promising research in MS
would not be possible.
Decades of Hope: 1981
The first MRI
scan of people
with MS is
performed.
Sarah Neil,
MSc Studentship
University of
British Columbia
The passion:
I knew that I wanted
an opportunity to do
meaningful research
with a potential to
benefit the population.
I found my supervisor, Dr. Jacqueline Quandt, to be
incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable about
her field, and I immediately became interested in
joining her cause and working towards ending MS.
The research:
My study focuses on a powerful antioxidant
called TEMPOL, which has been shown to reduce
the incidence and severity of disease in a common
mouse model of MS. We aim to identify the
mechanisms by which TEMPOL reduces the
damage that is characteristic of MS; this will
allow an assessment of TEMPOL as a potential
therapeutic.
The perspective:
TEMPOL has the potential to help satisfy the need
for MS therapies that are safe, easy to take, and
have minimal side effects. Without the assistance
of the MS Society of Canada and its donors, none
of this work would be possible. I greatly appreciate
the continued support.
1996
Canadian
researchers
find gene
linkage to MS
susceptibility.

For Former Chairman, It All Adds Up
Devotion to your mother can really pay off. In fact,
if you’re Sandy Aird, it can translate into helping to
raise more than $100 million dollars for research—
and supporting considerable progress in the fight
against MS. More than 35 years ago, Sandy’s
mother was diagnosed with MS. He was still in
university, and he witnessed first-hand the many
struggles that come with living with this disease.
Sandy trained his energies on fighting MS. He
became chair of the MS Society, helped advance
the MS Scientific Research Foundation, which
has invested more than $100 million in research,
and served as national chair of the successful
endMS capital campaign. And now he has left
a generous legacy gift to the MS Society in his
will. “Whether it’s $5 … or $500,000, we can
each contribute to ending MS,” he says.
1997
Multiple Sclerosis Scientific
Research Foundation (MSSRF)
funds cutting-edge Canadian
Collaborative Project on Genetic
Susceptibility in MS for $4.7 million.
Legacy Donors:
They See the Present, Envision the Future
Sandy Aird Melanie Yach
Young Mom Balances Family, Philanthropy
Melanie is a young mother with two girls. She lives
a full life in the here and now, but she’s also focused
on what’s to come. Taking care of her daughters
is her priority, of course, but she’s also thinking
about the path to a cure for MS, inspired by a close
friend whose father had MS. She’s decided to do
something about both.
She might have thought that leaving a legacy
gift was beyond her means, but Melanie learned
that she could leave a gift of life insurance,
naming the MS Society of Canada as beneficiary.
“It was the kind of gift that allowed me to balance
my desire to benefit the MS Society with my
responsibilities to my girls (at a very modest cost, I
might add),” says Melanie.
1999
Health Canada approves Betaseron®
(interferon beta-1b) as a treatment
for secondary-progressive MS to slow
the progression of disability and to
reduce the frequency of MS attacks.

These legacy donors come from different backgrounds, donate for different reasons, and draw
on different resources. What they share is an intimate knowledge of the hardships of MS and a
determination to help fund research into the future—so that MS will become a thing of the past.
2004
Cecille Bushko and
Donovan Walker
Helping to Pave the Way
Donovan Walker and Cecille Bushko loved to head
out on the highway—touring the country on their
motorcycles, enjoying the sights and feeling free. It
was one of the things that drew them together. Just
like skiing, which is how they met. Speed and the
outdoors seemed to be in their blood.
They married in 1982. A year later, Cecille, an
ER and Intensive Care Unit nursing teacher, was
diagnosed with progressive MS, and six years
after that, she was forced to stop teaching.
But she could still ride.
By 1994, she was confined to a wheelchair, but she
and Donovan kept on riding. He cruised on his Harley
with Cecille in the sidecar, and they chalked up two
cross-continental tours, among other adventures.
They keep going, and they’ll keep giving. Donovan
concedes that their touring days are near an end,
but they remain hopeful that someday, research
will lead to a cure. To do their part, they’ve made
a bequest to the MS Society.
Link between
vitamin D and
reduced risk of
MS identified.
2004 2011
MSSRF funds
groundbreaking
study of
pediatric
MS for $4.3
million.
Suzanne Deschamps
Action is the Word
Suzanne Deschamps was an athletic 28 year-old
when the headaches started. They would turn out
to be telltale symptoms of multiple sclerosis. She
has experienced frightening temporary attacks
including loss of vision, but she remains upbeat.
She lives her life with the same intensity she always
has, but she chooses different activities and moderates
her pace, opting for golf instead of cycling, for
instance. “You have to stay positive. I got into golfing
a lot more seriously. I can’t walk the golf course, but
I have a golf cart,” she says. She also stepped up her
volunteering, becoming president of the MS Society’s
Cold Lake Chapter.
MS researchers have made great progress during
the last decade, but Suzanne knows how much more
needs to be done. That’s why she became an Evelyn
Opal Society member, naming the MS Society as a
beneficiary of her life insurance policy. She knows
her special gift will one day become everlasting:
a cure for multiple sclerosis.
Health Canada approves
Gilenya® (fingolimod)
capsules, the first oral
therapy developed for
relapsing-remitting MS.

Research Update
A population study
of risk factors
for multiple sclerosis:
the Canadian
contribution to an
international study
Dr. Christina Wolfson,
PhD of McGill University,
Montreal, along with
European research
partners, has undertaken
what will be the largest
MS risk factor study
ever conducted. This
international case-
control study is aimed
at understanding how
vitamin D exposure,
infectious agents and
smoking act together
as MS risk factors. The
study will be complete
by the spring of 2013
with published results
to follow.
2011
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
175 Bloor Street East, Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3R8
MSSRF funds a
$3.8 million study
on progressive
forms of MS.
Where do you start?
Is a legacy gift an option for you?
Here are a few quick answers.
Q: Do I need a large estate to make a
planned gift?
A: Not at all. In fact, if there’s a desire to leave a
legacy gift, there’s a way. The most popular form
of legacy giving is the bequest, a gift of money or
other assets stated in a will. Every gift, large or
small, makes an impact.
Q: Who is the best person to consult
about making a planned gift?
A: Everyone’s circumstances are different, so we
recommend starting the conversation with
your financial advisor or attorney. Of course,
you’re also welcome to contact our legacy
experts for general guidance. Call us (toll-free
in Canada) at 1-800-268-7582.
Q: How do I start the gift planning process?
A: A good place to start is the Resources page at
our website: www.mslegacy.ca. You’ll find an
introduction to legacy giving, information about
types of giving, and worksheets that will prepare
you for a conversation with your financial advisor,
attorney, or one of our legacy experts.
Q: What relationship will I have with the
Society after I make a planned gift?
A: That’s entirely up to you. We’d appreciate
knowing about a gift so that we can thank
you properly. Legacy donors do qualify for
membership in the MS Society of Canada’s
Evelyn Opal Society. Beyond that, you decide
how little or how much we stay in touch.
2012
The first oral
treatment for
improved walking
performance in
patients with MS
is available.
Welcome to the
Evelyn Opal
Society!
We’d like to extend our
deepest gratitude to the
following supporters who
graciously chose to create
a legacy to a future free
from MS in 2011 and 2012.
In so doing, they joined
the growing ranks of our
Evelyn Opal Society members.
Loraine Fleming
Yvette Landry
Rachel Souchereau
Anonymous (2)
Legacy Resources
There are lots of ways to leave a
legacy gift, and we’ve got a few
resources that make your options
clear and offer easy guidance. When
you visit the Resources page on
mslegacy.ca, you’ll find helpful
worksheets to complete before
meeting with your financial planner,
our detailed legacy giving brochure,
and specific information about
bequests, gifts of life insurance,
securities and much more!
We love to hear from you!
Contact us: 1-800-268-7582
Email: mslegacy@mssociety.ca
Web: www.mslegacy.ca
TRIB1305
As you can see, thanks to the support
of people like you, research is moving
us forward toward a world without
MS. Together, in the 21st century, we’re
building toward the day when the
word “cure” will close out our timeline.