MS Focus Activities Feb. 15, 2018 – Atlanta Hopeful Healing: Learn the Benefits of Realistic Hope Dr. Ben Thrower hosted Rae Lynne Mattis, a licensed clinical social worker in the Atlanta area, who spoke about the power of hope. “Master the art of the possible: Do all you can with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are.” Sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals and Genenech. Mar. 13, 2018 – Atlanta Town Hall Q and A Dr. Ben Thrower held a question and answer session covering topics from DMTs to emotional well-being, and everything in-between. “Cannabinoids are becoming more accessible. Our advice to anyone starting to use those kinds of products is that you don’t change anything else inyourtreatment program. Don’t stop takingyourothermedications. We only want one thing to change at a time. Once we have a sense of how you’re reacting and we can see how it works for you, we can look at changing other treatment aspects. But, with treatment, it is incredibly important to always focus on only changing one thing at a time.” Sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals and Acorda Therapeutics Mar. 19, 2018 – Gainesville, Fla. Coping With MS Dr. Tirisham Gyang, from the University of Florida, discussed the challenges of diagnosing MS, best practices for doctor visits, and offered tips for how to cope with the disease. “The current plan of attack with a new diagnosis, especially when the patient is in their 20s or 30s, is to hit it hard and early. Studies have shown that the more disease activity a person sees early on, the more likely they are to see greater disability later in life. When we devise these care plans, we are thinking about you at 50 or 60. We aren’t thinking of you tomorrow, or next year, we are thinking of the next 20 to 30 years of life.” Sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals [TAKEAWAYS 41 msfocusmagazine.org