Join us for a special episode on women’s health and MS, hosted by Dr Tennille Luker, MS Australia’s Head of Research, exploring diagnosis and lived experience, mental health, work and chronic illness, pregnancy, midlife, menopause and MS research.

MS is the most common acquired neurological condition affecting young Australians and is three times more common in women than men. The reason for this is an enduring mystery of MS research and Dr Luker talks about some of the clues we have, to unravel this mystery.

This year’s Women’s Health Week theme is ‘Say yes to you’ and we look at how some of the daily themes (every check matters, take the lead, heart smart, pain to power and be kind to your mind) relate to MS and are experienced by women living with MS.

It’s important for women to stay up to date with health checks, arm themselves with the right knowledge and tools to get more out of health appointments and be aware of other health conditions that may intersect with MS. Seeking help for MS pain is vital and so is recognising that looking after your mind is as important as caring for your body. In the first instance, talk to your trusted healthcare team or contact your local MS organisation for support and advice. Also check out MS Australia’s new Living well with MS guide.

Today, we’re speaking with three fascinating women living very different lives but with MS as a common factor.

Our guests are:

• Samantha Seymour – Mental health counsellor and Psychotherapist from Newstart who lives with MS and works with women with MS
• Sally Irwin – MS Australia Lived Experience Expert Panel (LEEP) member and Head of Data Change for HSBC Australia, facilitating the implementation of Regulatory and Procedural change as it relates to the bank’s usage and storage of data and who lives with MS
• Associate Professor Vilija Jokubaitis – MS Researcher | Deputy Head of the Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine at Monash University and Neuroimmunology Genomics, Prognostics and Women’s Health Group Lead, who is recruiting to her current project The Multiple Sclerosis Australian Women’s Midlife Years (MS-AMY) Study