More Canadians Go Overseas for Treatment
More and more Canadians are heading overseas for treatment that is unavailable in their home country. The Liberation therapy treatment for multiple sclerosis, which uses surgery to clear blocked veins rather than conventional Canadian drugs, is the latest and biggest reason why so many Canadian citizens are taking their cases overseas rather than waiting for the Canadian health service to catch up.
Fifty six year old mother of two Anne Laven is the latest such MS sufferer to do just that. “I’ve looked into this quite a bit,” she says. “There should be angioplasty available right here for people with MS.” While the technique is yet to be made available in Canada due to a perceived lack of scientific evidence as to its true effectiveness, Laven has no such doubts. “It’s really quite scandalous and quite shocking that the procedure isn’t offered to people with MS here,” she says. Like many, Laven also can’t help but wonder whether the reluctance to hurry up the necessary scientific research that would enable the technique to become available doesn’t have something to do with a desire not to upset Canadian drug companies, who make millions from MS sufferers dependant on their products. She does admit, however, that the hesitation may not all be based around sinister motives. “Maybe because it’s new and they haven’t learned much about it yet,” she concedes. Laven herself has no such qualms, however. “What a joyful thing it would be,” she says, “if people with MS, which is a progressively more horrible disease, could take advantage when something like this comes around.”
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