please watch this;nature of things MS wars.

To me this issue is a no-brainer.

1) The angioplasty that is used is already being done thousands and thousands of times for other vascular issues. Therefore it is already deemed a safe method for enlarging and opening blockages in arteries and veins. It is not a new, experimental procedure. It is tried and true.

2) The one-time cost of the procedure, if even only successful for a percentage of patients, will save the taxpayers huge dollars that would be spent in long term care treating symptoms of the disease in both medication and follow-up care.

Statements made "that if everyone were given the treatment would lessen the chance of follow-up and as such did not allow a proper trial to take place", or that "it will change the focus away from the other exciting and promising (sic) developments taking place" prove conclusively that the true goal of medicinal bureaucracy is not the successful elimination of disease (as it used to be), but the preservation of the institution itself.

Unfortunately, like many other specialized disease treatments, over the years millions of dollars have been invested in drugs, procedures, and worst of all bureaucracies, which may be jeopardized by the successful outcome of such a minimalist treatment. There are many who have aligned their entire career in the disease, and as such, they may no longer be relevant if it is proved successful.

It is no different than the methodolgy used by doctors to prescribe medications for symptoms, when in reality, a lifestyle change can negate the need for them. Perfect examples are high blood pressure and chlorestorol.

There is a belief by many that a cure for cancer will never be found. For if it was, there would be millions of people unemployed. From scientists, to drug manufacturers, to the specialized medical community, to the manufacturers of the specialized equipment used, and most of all, the huge numbers of people who's daily job is fund-raising and overseeing the huge industry which has been built up around it, there are too many people with a vested interest in their own personal priorities to allow it to happen.


We can only hope that with a strong enough voice, sanity will be forced upon the "system", and soon.

Take care,
grant