Living
IN PRINT
What Nurses Know … Multiple Sclerosis
by Carol Saunders, BA, BSN, MSCN
When I agreed to review this book as someone who
has lived with multiple sclerosis
for nearly 20 years, I thought it
would be easy. It wasn’t, really.
A medical professional has a
different view on the subject.
The technical language is not
always clear, either. But as I
kept working through What
Nurses Know, taking note
of the helpful tips
highlighted throughout
the book and digging
in to read each chapter
thoroughly, I learned
more about MS than I
ever thought I could.
Now I wish I had read
it years ago.
The author, Carol Saunders,
is a well-respected MS nurse
with 25 years of experience.
Chapters 1 through 5 deal with
the history of MS, how it’s
diagnosed and the treatment
options available to help manage
symptoms, shorten the length
and strength of relapses and put
the brakes on disease activity.
Chapter 6 covers
complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM). Saunders
addresses urinary tract health,
vitamin D, general dietary
guidelines and exercise options
such as yoga and tai chi for
maintaining strength, balance
and vitality. A checklist at
the beginning of the chapter
provides questions to ask first
before choosing any CAM
therapy—very handy for me, as
I have tried little in the way of
CAM myself.
Chapter 7, “Multiple
Sclerosis and Your Family, Your
Friends, and Your Workplace,”
offers frank advice on difficult
subjects like sexuality, and when
and how to disclose MS to
relatives, friends and employers.
When I explained to my boss
and coworkers that I had MS,
they were understanding and
did their best to help, right up
to the day when I finally had
to go on long-term disability.
But not everyone has such
smooth sailing. Saunders offers
strategies that seem workable
and effective.
Multiple Sclerosis: The Questions
You Have, The Answers You Need
by Rosalind Kalb, PhD
The fifth edition of this definitive guide for everyone affected by multiple sclerosis provides
the most current information available, including
newly developed drugs and treatments. Within each
section, MS experts, including neurologists, nurses,
rehabilitation and mental health professionals, lawyers,
and insurance and employment experts, answer the
questions they get asked most frequently. Dr. Rosalind
Kalb, who edited the book, is associate vice president
of the Society’s Professional Resource Center.
Demos Health, 2011, 448 pages, $24.95,
demoshealth.com.
Use code SSMSQA5E for a discount.
