Join us for a special episode of the Raw Nerve Podcast as we celebrate the launch of an innovative MS Nurse-led resource designed to support Australians living with multiple sclerosis (MS) amid MS specialist nurse care shortages.

MS Specialist Nurses or MS Nurses are an integral part of the multidisciplinary team of specialist healthcare professionals providing support, education, advice, and care for people with MS and their family and carers.

Developed by MS Australia and MS Nurses Australasia, ’Back on Track’ was likewise developed by expert MS Nurses, drawing on their combined 140 years of experience working in MS, together with lived experience contributions from the MS community.

Today we take you to the MS Plus Wellbeing Centre in Lidcombe, New South Wales, for the 29 May 2026 launch of ‘Back on Track’: a series based on the PhD research of Dr Therese Burke AM.

In a panel session chaired by Katie Snell, MS Australia Policy Manager, you’ll hear from ‘Back on Track’ presenter and project lead, Registered Nurse, MS Specialist Dr Therese Burke AM and her fellow resource presenters, Registered Nurse, MS Specialist Belinda Bardsley and MS Nurse Practitioner, Tim O’Maley. Rounding out the panel is MS Australia Lived Experience Expert Panel (LEEP) member Rachel Fallis.

The launch of ‘Back on Track’ marks World MS Day 2026, with this year’s global campaign once again focused on the theme ‘My MS Diagnosis: Navigating MS together’.

The World MS Day ‘Diagnosis’ theme highlights the importance of timely, supported diagnosis and navigating the critical early stages of life with MS.

With one in three Australians living with MS lacking access to specialist MS Nurse care, this innovative new MS Nurse-led video and audio resource is designed to empower and guide people through their unique MS journey.

Other speakers:

• Rob McClay, Executive Manager, Strategy and Client Impact, MS Plus
• George Pampacos, Chair, MS Australia
• Meaghan Osborne, President, MS Nurses Australasia
• Rohan Greenland, CEO, MS Australia

Useful links:

• Back on Track
• MS Australia’s Living Well with MS Lifestyle Guide
• Local MS Contacts/Support and Services

In this special episode of The Raw Nerve, we speak with Jen Willis after her historic Mount Everest summit. As the first Australian living with MS to reach the top of the world, Jen speaks candidly about the mental and physical demands of the climb, the support network that helped make it possible, and how living with MS shaped the resilience and perspective she brought to the mountain.

Useful links:

• Jen’s summit day

• Everest 2026: The Climb Beyond the Summit

MS Australia Deputy CEO Dr Julia Morahan speaks with leading clinician researchers and MS experts Professor Helmut Butzkueven and Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt about the updated 2025 McDonald Diagnostic Criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS).

The revised guidelines aim to diagnose MS earlier and more accurately, helping people access treatment sooner and improve long-term outcomes. The update represents a major step forward in care and quality of life. The panel explores why “time is brain” in MS care, how new MRI and eye imaging technologies are changing diagnosis, and what the updates mean for clinicians and the MS community.

The discussion also highlights the global collaboration behind the criteria update, including the role of people living with MS in shaping the recommendations, and how research from the MSBase Foundation continues to influence MS care worldwide.

This episode provides practical insight into one of the most significant advances in MS diagnosis and care in recent years and explores:

• Why the 2025 McDonald Diagnostic Criteria matter
• How the new guidelines may reduce delays in diagnosis
• Why earlier MS diagnosis can improve long-term outcomes

For many people, receiving a diagnosis brings clarity and relief. As echoed by members of MS Australia’s Lived Experience Expert Panel (LEEP), alongside clinical accuracy these updates help people move forward with confidence, access treatment earlier, and feel supported in their MS journey.

Explore MS Australia's new Lifestyle Guide and for helpful, local contacts visit our Support and Services page. The revised McDonald Criteria will feature in the 2026 World MS Day campaign.

Guests

Professor Helmut Butzkueven is Van Cleef Roet Professor of Neuroscience at Monash University, Director of Neurology, Alfred Care Group at Bayside Health, Head of the Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine (Alfred Campus), Monash University, and Managing Director of the MSBase Foundation. He is co-recipient of the 2025 MS Australia MS Research Award.

Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt is Director, MS and Neuroimmunology and Neuro-ophthalmology at Alfred Health; Head of the MS and Neuro-ophthalmology Group, Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine at Monash University; and Chief Operating Officer of the MSBase Foundation.

The episode transcript is unavailable at this time.

Today’s episode spotlights the essential topic of continence, examining its effect on quality of life, including for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

We feature an engaging conversation with Continence Health Australia and a powerful personal account from a Lived Experience Expert Panel (LEEP) member and share practical tips and resources.

With World Continence Week 2026 (June 15–21) on the horizon, our episode highlights this important yet often overlooked issue. Many Australians—those with MS included—face bowel or bladder challenges during their lives. Continence means managing bladder or bowel function; incontinence is losing this control. While this is a common symptom for people with MS, the right resources and support can make a healthy, active life possible.

Guest host Dr Tennille Luker, MS Australia’s Head of Research, outlines typical bladder and bowel problems for people living with MS, the underlying causes, and steps to take when these concerns appear. Jim Cooper, CEO of Continence Health Australia, offers ways to improve life for those managing continence issues and details the popular National Public Toilet Map. Anne Cooper, a LEEP member from Western Australia, shares her personal journey with continence, her connection to our Member Organisation MSWA, management strategies including catheters, and how humour has played a vital role.

Our panel discusses the high prevalence of incontinence in Australia (over seven million people affected), living with MS and continence concerns, the importance of plentiful, accessible public toilets, how continence can impact sleep, common misconceptions and stigma, community and family support, innovative campaigns like the Great Dunny Hunt, and why early recognition and a multidisciplinary approach matter.

For those living with MS with new or ongoing bladder or bowel symptoms, please reach out to your neurologist, MS nurse, or GP for advice and support. Visit MS Australia's Support and Services page for helpful MS contacts in your local area and explore our new Lifestyle Guide.

The Continence Health Australia helpline is free and confidential, their 2026 National Conference includes a Community Event in Melbourne on 16 May, and the National Public Toilet Map is a fantastic resource for accessible facilities across the country.

The May 50K is fast approaching and today we explore its impact on MS (multiple sclerosis) research, and how participants support important research advancements.

Since launching in 2019, this fun and flexible fitness challenge for individuals and workplace teams has raised more than $25.5 million to support world-class research into the prevention, treatment and cure of MS.

Each May, thousands of people in Australia and around the world walk, run, roll, swim 50 kilometres, or set their own goal or activity, to help leave MS where it belongs, behind us.

In this episode, Raw Nerve host Jeremy Henderson speaks with three passionate May 50K champions and participants about the importance of community, exercise, and fundraising in the fight against MS.

Today’s guests are Dr Fiona McKay, Deputy Head of Research at MS Australia, Sophie Drummond from our Member Organisation MS Plus and Campaign Manager for The May 50K, also Dr Amanda Kennedy, a member of MS Australia’s Lived Experience Expert Panel (the LEEP) and Lecturer in Marketing at The University of Sydney. Sophie and Amanda also live with MS.

Key topics include:

• The significance of The May 50K event in MS research funding
• How exercise benefits people living with MS and the community
• The role of community and teamwork in fundraising success
• Research priorities and breakthroughs in MS, including EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) and progressive MS trials
• Personal stories of MS diagnosis, advocacy, and participation in the May 50K and strategies for fundraising
• New innovations and incentives for May 50K participants
• MS Australia’s Lived Experience Expert Panel

You will hear how to register for The May 50K 2026 and clock the kilometres, to help support life-changing research into the prevention, treatment and finding a cure for MS.

Whether you are already signed up or simply curious about how movement can drive real change, this episode is a great source of inspiration to get involved.

For helpful MS contacts in your local area, visit our Support and Services page and check out MS Australia’s new Lifestyle Guide for people living with MS.

On today’s Raw Nerve, we present part two of an interview with Stephen Crawford, a Canberra-based artist and musician who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS).

In part one, Stephen shared with us his uniquely individual story – starting with his childhood in Scotland and moving to Australia in the 1980s – and many fascinating anecdotes, with his signature dark humour, resilience, and positivity.

Stephen creates artwork to help people understand what it’s like to live with MS. In this second part, Stephen discusses the intersection of MS and his art, and his plans for how he hopes to continue to educate and inform others. He introduces us to his art practice and methodologies, and where it all began, his painting journey, and what his artworks represent. He shares many references to popular culture and their link to MS, and colourful analogies to help describe what is going on inside his body. Stephen also talks about MS symptoms, his love of storytelling, the importance of fundraising for MS research, and advice for others newly-diagnosed with MS.

No two people experience MS in the same way, and so too everyone finds strength in their own way, as Stephen’s story attests.

If you listen carefully, you will hear that Stephen is drawing throughout the conversation. Below, we have included some of his artworks.

This episode includes mentions of injuries, medical procedures, and some dark themes, in the context of the interviewee’s unique life journey.

For helpful MS contacts in your local area, visit our Support and Services page and check out MS Australia’s new Lifestyle Guide for people living with MS.

Stephen Crawford's Art

On today’s Raw Nerve, we present part one of an interview with Stephen Crawford, a Canberra-based artist and musician who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Stephen shares with us his uniquely individual story – starting with his childhood in Scotland and moving to Australia in the 1980s – and many fascinating anecdotes, with his signature dark humour, resilience, and positivity.

Stephen creates artwork to help people understand what it’s like to live with MS. In this first part, Stephen talks through his recent MS diagnosis, the process he went through, and life with a chronic illness. He also discusses symptoms, the impact of MS on his career and day-to-day work, and other elements of his life, dealing with adversity and various humps along his journey.

No two people experience MS in the same way, and so too everyone finds strength in their own way, as Stephen’s story attests.

If you listen carefully, you will hear that Stephen is drawing throughout the conversation. Below, we have included some of his artworks.

In a future episode, Stephen discusses the intersection of MS and his art, as well as his plans for how he hopes to continue to educate and inform others.

This episode includes mentions of injuries, medical procedures, and some dark themes in the context of the interviewee’s unique life journey.

For helpful MS contacts in your local area, visit our Support and Services page and check out MS Australia’s new Lifestyle Guide for people living with MS.

Stephen Crawford's Art

Join us for a special episode of the Raw Nerve Podcast as we celebrate excellence in MS Australia research, showcase exciting projects from our most recent MS Research Grant Round, and discuss the need for greater government investment in neurological research.

MS Australia has invested millions into funding and facilitating MS research in Australia and around the globe. Outside of government, we are the largest funder of MS research in Australia, having invested over $75 million to date.

In this episode of the Raw Nerve podcast we take you to Parliamentary Friends of MS event at Parliament House Canberra.

You’ll hear from Parliamentary Friends of MS Co-Chairs Senator Wendy Askew and Senator Deborah O’Neill and explore MS Australia’s research program with Dr Tennille Luker, Head of Research at MS Australia. Member for Griffith, Renee Coffey MP speaks about the value of MS research through the lens of lived experience and political representation. And Dr Monique Ryan, Independent Member for Kooyong discusses the critical importance of medical research and the need to unlock and invest more Commonwealth funding.

Useful links:

• MS Research Grants Announcement

Today’s Raw Nerve episode explores the major new report: Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence and Health Economic Impact in Australia 2025.

Released at MS Australia’s 2025 Progress in MS Research Conference, the report reveals that a record 37,756 Australians are now living with multiple sclerosis (MS) – a 13.3% increase in just three years since 2021.

The report is the third major publication on the cost of MS in Australia, commissioned by MS Australia and produced by the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania. The primary data source is the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS).

Joining guest host Dr Fiona McKay, Deputy Head of Research at MS Australia are report lead author Dr Julie Campbell, Senior Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania; report author Professor Bruce Taylor, Neurologist and Academic Lead – also from Menzies and Dr Tennille Luker, Head of Research at MS Australia. Professor Taylor is also co-recipient of MS Australia’s 2025 MS Research Award, recognising more than 25 years of leadership in advancing MS research and improving outcomes for people living with the condition.

We wanted to help listeners understand a bit about the report and what it all means, including the impact of MS on quality of life and employment, what might be contributing to the increased prevalence of MS, key findings and recommendations for improving outcomes for those affected by MS and the importance of sustained and rigorous MS research funding and response.

For Dr Luker, the report is a clear, credible story of what MS looks like today in Australia: how people are affected, what MS costs and where the biggest gaps are and she shares many other key takeaways.

Also mentioned today is the Global MS Prevention Initiative which MS Australis is co-leading along with MS Canada, the important role of MS Nurses, Brain Health, PLATYPUS and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and its Agency (the NDIA).

Visit our Support and Services page for contacts in your local area and check out MS Australia’s new Lifestyle Guide for people living with MS.

Recorded live at MS Australia’s 2025 Progress in MS Research Conference in Brisbane, Queensland, MS Neurosciences Nurse practitioner Jodi Haartsen’s brain health and self-care focused talk left audience members deeply moved and inspired.

Moving into a new year and marking the first Raw Nerve Podcast episode for 2026, we are pleased to share Jodi’s brilliant Community Day Keynote and her helpful tips for self-care, being kind to self and setting yourself up to live well with multiple sclerosis (MS) or support a family member or friend with MS.

Over 25 years of working alongside people living with MS, one truth has become clear to Jodi - brain health is about far more than medication or MRI scans. It’s about the everyday choices, connections, and mindsets that shape how people live well with their condition.

In this session, Jodi shares practical, evidence-based insights on what truly supports brain health, drawing on both science and the lived experiences of patients and carers. Through real stories and simple strategies, she explores how small, meaningful actions - from movement and mindset to sleep and social connection - can protect and strengthen the brain across the MS journey.

This is a conversation about empowerment, not prescription - and about how every person can take small steps toward better brain health and self-care, starting today.

Jodi understands that MS asks a lot of those living with the condition and presents many hurdles but reassures the audience that support is close at hand.

Warm, engaging, and down to earth, Jodi discusses setting up your environment to create the best and strongest version of yourself, why self-talk and strong mental health matters significantly, tips to gain emotional strength and optimise wellbeing, alongside many other pearls of wisdom and takeaways.

Visit our Support and Services page for contacts in your local area and check out MS Australia’s new Lifestyle Guide for people living with MS, launched on World MS Day 2025.

Our biennial Progress in MS Research Conference is Australia’s leading event exploring innovative research into the causes, prevention, improved treatments and ultimately a cure for MS.