to download the production programme as a PDF ... - Almeida Theatre

“I resolved to look the disease right in the eyes. Stare deep into the void. I knew that I couldn't
fight the thing. It's not like cancer or financial problems where you can grit your teeth and fight
to the bitter end - you may win and you may lose but you go down fighting. With MS, you would
only lose. There is no cure. No one has ever beaten MS in a straight fight no matter who claims
what. It can be kind and can suddenly leave you, but you cannot defeat it.
For me, the key was, though I couldn't beat MS, it wouldn't beat me either. I'm unlikely to die
from MS, at least any time soon. Some famous person with Parkinson's disease once said that
he wouldn't die from it but he would die with it. That seemed to me to be how to treat MS. It's
here to stay but it's not the end by any means. It's not even the beginning of the end. My life can
go on. Maybe things have to be a little different, but they will go on nonetheless. I could be
happy again, I could laugh again, hell, I may even find love again!”
Paul Jones, ‘The Diary of a Hypochondriac’, All About Multiple Sclerosis, at www.mult-sclerosis.org
10
• Primary progressive MS (PPMS)
Affecting only 10 to 15 per cent of
people who have the condition, there
are several major differences
distinguishing this form of MS from
the relapsing remitting form. As the
name suggests, the change, even if
slow, is progressive, and the pattern of
relapses and remissions does not
occur. People with primary progressive
MS tend to be diagnosed when they
are older; commonly over 40. Unlike
relapsing remitting MS, men are just
as likely to develop this type of MS as
women, although we do not know why.
■ Symptoms
MS is unpredictable. It varies from
person to person and can result in a
wide variety of symptoms, none of
which is unique to MS.
Some of the common symptoms are
fatigue, balance problems and vertigo,
walking and co-ordination difficulties,
problems with vision and speech,
numbness or tingling, loss of muscle
strength and dexterity, stiffness and
spasms, anxiety, depression or mood
swings, difficulty with memory and
concentration, speech problems,
incontinence, and sexual problems.
Studies have suggested that clinical
depression is more frequent among
people with MS than it is in the
general population and even more
common than among persons with
other chronic, disabling conditions.
■ Treatment
Disease modifying drugs, such as Beta
interferons and Glatiramer acetate,
What is MS?
• MS is the most common
potentially disabling disease of the
central nervous system affecting
young adults in the Western world.
• An estimated 2,500,000 people in
the world have Multiple Sclerosis -
including 85,000 in the UK.
• Every week around 50 people in
the UK are diagnosed with MS.
• Diagnosis is usually between 20
and 40 years of age - rarely under
12 or over 55.
• Three women have MS for every
two men. In rare cases it affects
children.
are thought to alter the immune
response that causes myelin damage,
and, whilst by no means a cure, can
help to reduce the frequency and
severity of relapses.
However, for a significant minority of
people affected by MS these drugs are
innefective in reducing symptoms or
they have such severely debilitating
• Prognosis is uncertain - ranging
from benign through ‘coming and
going’ to severely disabling.
• MS is not hereditary - but there is a
slightly higher chance of getting it
if a relative has it - and it is not
contagious.
• There is no cure for MS but there
are now drugs which can modify
its course for some people and
many symptoms can be
successfully treated or managed.
• MRI (magnetic resonance
imaging) is giving neurologists
better understanding of MS,
helping diagnosis and research
into treatments.