Sarah heads to Russia in latest battle in war on MS

SARAH Woolford is not the sort of person to take a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis lying down.

Since being diagnosed in 2012, she has been researching its causes and the latest in MS medical research.

She has booked herself in to a Russian hospital next September to have a process called hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), which she hopes will stop the progress of the disease.

"I have a lot of life to live. I want to get to a good, ripe old age," she said.

The Casino mum says she has "good days and bad days" and at the moment is able to work three days a week as a teacher.

The process, which is only in trial stage in Australia, involves removing and storing stem cells from the patient before an extensive round of chemotherapy.

The stem cells are then transplanted back into the body to "re-boot the immune system". The process takes 30 to 35 days, including seven to 10 days in isolation when the immune system is at its lowest. Follow-up care is available in Brisbane.

The process is available in several countries but Sarah said Russia was the most affordable.

"This is something that is proven (to work); it's not new age," she said.

Sarah said it would cost $45,000 plus airfares to get the transplant done in Russia and she was already well under way with fundraising.

Link:
Sarah heads to Russia in latest battle in war on MS