In the five years since her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, the Emmy award-winning actor Christina Applegate has become a prominent spokesperson for people living with the neurological disease. Both her memoir, published earlier this year, and the MS-themed podcast MeSsy that she co-hosts with fellow actor Jamie Lynn Sigler have significantly raised public awareness about multiple sclerosis and the broader topic of living with disability.
So Applegate’s recent revelation that her neurologist now believes that she does not have the disease after all came as a shock to me and to many other people living with multiple sclerosis. We understand why Applegate says that she does not regard her health update as good news. The undiagnosis is not a cure – she is just as sick as she ever was, but “back to square one” when it comes to explanations. Medical experts interviewed about Applegate’s case reassure us that most people being treated for multiple sclerosis can be confident in our diagnoses and advise those of us with concerns to consult our neurologists for reassessment.
