Emma Gillespie

yeah seeing um how she goes about her life every single day yeah that visibility I think is a really important piece to what we're going to get into that you know if you don't know or see anyone with MS you can't always imagine what their lived experience is like yes

So it's a new national survey.

It was commissioned by Novartis with recruitment supported by MS Australia.

And what did it find when it comes to people's attitudes towards MS?

Well, it turns out that most Australians actually have misconceptions about MS.

So many people carry a quite outdated image, especially when it comes to what an RRMS diagnosis can look like.

That's that most common form of MS.

So according to these findings, basically, when most of us think of someone living with MS, we might picture a wheelchair, maybe a carer,

maybe a life that looks dramatically different from our own day-to-day lives.

Well, it depends on which type of MS you have.

But for that common relapsing remitting type, living with MS looks very different to that picture.

I actually spoke to Dr. Tenille Luca.

She is the head of research at MS Australia.

And she told me a lot more treatments are available now compared to a decade ago.

Exactly.

And that gap is really what this survey is about.

So it found over 75% of those who were aware of MS said they either don't believe or don't fully agree that people with MS can have an active and happy life, even with treatment.

But when researchers asked people living with relapsing remitting MS what their lives actually look like, nine in 10 said that they feel positive about their future.

The overwhelming majority said that with the right treatment and support,

they can live actively and fully.