November 6, 2019 Columns by Cathy Chester The Past Gives Us Hope for the Future The times we’re living in feel surreal to me. I’m not talking about the current state of U.S. politics, though my opinions could fill a book. I’m talking about how I feel when I read about advances that have been made since my diagnosis three decades ago, and…
September 4, 2019 Columns by Cathy Chester Ageism in Clinical Trials and Healthcare The idea, they say, is to keep having birthdays, and I agree. I see aging as a precious gift, and when you live with multiple sclerosis (MS), that gift is even more golden with each passing year. We earn every wrinkle, gain new…
March 20, 2019 Columns by Cathy Chester Dealing with Seizures and Multiple Sclerosis When you’ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for as long as I have, you sometimes forget or block out negative experiences you’ve had over the years. As The Rolling Stones put it, “Time is on my side.” One particular memory seems distant, but…
March 6, 2019 Columns by Cathy Chester Mindfulness and Perspective: The Tools I Rely on While Living With MS Several summers ago I had the misfortune of experiencing the simultaneous agony of kidney stones and gallstones. The level of pain was greater than I’d had with childbirth. It brought me to my knees and took two hospitals, one misdiagnosis, and two surgeries to get…
December 5, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester How to Reach Your Goals While Living with Multiple Sclerosis Having lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for over three decades, I have lots of stories to tell about my experience with the disease. Tales about dating, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, relationships, career, and so on. I’ve had MS for so long that sometimes it’s hard…
November 21, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Taking a Break from the News to Keep Stress at Bay We live in a turbulent, violent, and hostile society. We wake up every day to news of another mass shooting, Mother Nature causing unstoppable damage, loud protests by politicians or citizens, or an exchange of angry barbs across social media. Â Bad news…
August 22, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester How Holistic Therapies Are Helping Me Alleviate MS Symptoms When I was younger, I never thought about trying holistic therapies to aid healing. Looking back I wish the medical community had embraced these therapies as potential treatments for MS symptoms. My first few years of living with MS were an incredible struggle; there were…
August 8, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Researchers Have a New Theory About What May Cause Multiple Sclerosis When the following headline in the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun caught my eye recently, I was cautiously intrigued: “Doctors believe they have discovered the cause of multiple sclerosis” My cynical heart didn’t go pitter-patter as…
July 11, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Research Shows Immune System Bacteria Link to MS Lately, much of my work has been focused on the relationship between the gut and MS. As I experience ongoing gut issues, I need to learn how to advocate for myself by learning as much as I can about gut bacteria and finding the right…
June 13, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Multiple Sclerosis, Comorbidities, and How to Live with Them I’m doing all I can to remain calm and keep stressors at bay all in the name of wellness. So I’m trying to meditate at least five minutes a day — find a quiet room to sit tall, close my eyes, and focus on my…
May 9, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester The Agony of Decision-making when It’s Time to Switch MS Medications I’m agonizing over an important decision and it’s driving me crazy. I’m usually a quick decision-maker, but this one is tough. I have my analytical hat on, trying to look at my choices from a scientific standpoint. Unfortunately, my anxiety kicks in, and my hat…
March 28, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Here’s How to Honor the First #ProgressiveMSDay We’re all familiar with the yearly observance of MS Awareness Week and MS Awareness Month to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis. Considering that so many rare diseases, such as Graves’ disease or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, go largely unnoticed, the MS community is blessed with its fair…
March 21, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester Teach Your Children Well As an advocate for the multiple sclerosis community, people often ask me what it’s like being a mother while living with MS. My quick response is, “Joyous!” But I understand the questioner is looking for something more. They want to know how to…
February 28, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester How Searching for Silver Linings Can Help Ease Your Way It’s frightening to feel sick most of the time. Frightening, scary, overwhelming, unnerving, and hellish. Whichever negative words you choose are the right ones to describe how it feels to live with MS. People with MS are snowflakes, and our emotions are quite often the same. After three-plus…
February 7, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester 6 ways to help you cope with and accept your MS diagnosis Last updated April 25, 2023 At the intersection of hope and despair is a bench to sit and rest. At least, I hope there is. The bench gives us an opportunity to take a breather from the stresses of the world. It’s a chance to sit and think about which…
January 17, 2018 Columns by Cathy Chester MS, Gut Bacteria, and the Lonely, Stressful Job of Finding Your Way My life has been in limbo for several months and it’s been a dark and scary place to be. One quickly learns that life can be unpredictable when living with multiple sclerosis. Each day can bring different challenges and life will never be…
December 20, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester The Relationship Between Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis This year, I wrote several articles about gut health because, in addition to MS, that’s what I’m currently battling. Writing is cathartic, so when an issue hits close to home, pouring words onto paper … er, a laptop, is a godsend. It’s like having a…
December 6, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 6 Tips to Enjoy This Merry Month of December Whenever I turn the pages of my wall calendar to December, I look at the word itself ― DECEMBER ― and my heart fills with joy. And admittedly a little dread. Joy, because my husband and son have birthdays a week apart, it’s…
October 18, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester New Video Series Features ‘It Takes a Team’ There’s a difference between being lucky and being blessed. I learned that difference in 1992, after giving birth to our son. Once the doctors counted 10 toes, 10 fingers and we heard the baby’s first cry, I remarked to my husband how lucky we were.
September 27, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester New Video Series Aims to Lift the MS Community When you’re living with multiple sclerosis, it’s important to surround yourself with a community of people who give you the kind of support and understanding you need. When I was diagnosed in 1986, there was no internet to help me find a community,…
September 6, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester How to Handle Grief and Why It’s Important for Your Health Grief can cut like a knife and pierce a hole in your heart that never fully heals. I’ve heard people say they prepare themselves after learning about a loved one’s terminal diagnosis, but how? How do you prepare to say a final goodbye? You can brace…
July 26, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 31 Lessons I’ve Learned in 31 Years of Living with MS I was diagnosed at a time when no approved medications for MS existed and there was no internet to search for information about the disease. I was in my late 20s, dating the man I’d eventually marry and wondering how this new normal would affect my life. I’ve…
June 28, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester 4 Ways to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others How can you care for your MS when a loved one is ill? You want to be able to care for others despite your own daily struggles. As unpredictable as MS is, what is predictable is that your life will be touched by the…
June 14, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester BrainHQ is Fun Way to Improve Overall Cognitive Function in MS At times it can be difficult to know whether the cognitive issues I experience are the result of aging or multiple sclerosis. According to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) more than half of those living with MS develop problems with cognition, and in some cases…
May 24, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Is There a Link Between Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis? The past year has taken its toll on my digestive system. I’ve experienced alarming amounts of pain, bloating, diarrhea, and more fatigue than I normally experience from MS. All of these issues caused great stress both emotionally and physically, so it was no surprise when my…
May 17, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester How to Survive Summer Heat Intolerance With summer right around the corner, it’s time to start making plans. We all love spending time outdoors during the long hours of sunshine and warm temperatures, don’t we? Well, not everyone does. If you’re reading this, you’re probably living with multiple sclerosis. That…
April 26, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Why the Future of Science Is Crucial to the MS Community Everything around us, and within us, begins with science. Science is important to the future of humanity’s well-being. Science is what makes the world go around. We all think it’s love, but actually, at its core, love begins with chemistry. Biological…
April 13, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Why Staying Informed About Multiple Sclerosis is Important A lot has changed in multiple sclerosis research and treatment since I was diagnosed 30 years ago. Here are a few things I was told originally that are no longer true: There’s less than a 1% chance for a child to inherit their mother’s…
March 29, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Integrative Medicine for MS: an Interview with Dr. Bowling When you live with multiple sclerosis you search for ways to manage your disease. You turn to doctors who inevitably prescribe one of the many FDA-approved medications, but sometimes that’s not enough. To complete the picture of seeking better health, you need to also look outside…
March 15, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester More and More Studies Linking Multiple Sclerosis to the Gut Microbiome The past few months have not been fun. We lost my father-in-law, put our beloved cat down, and moved from our home to a townhouse that is too small and poorly built. With a low inventory of rental properties in our area, and…