Dear _______________,
We are asking members of all parties to show moral support
for the more than one million Canadians battling Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
1. We ask for your support of a motion in the House of Commons to recognise May 12th as our awareness day, similar to the motion passed by the Senate last year.
2. We ask for your support for the review of these illnesses by the Parliament's Standing Committee on Health.
3. We invite you to send a letter of moral support to hope@fm-cfs.ca, which we will post on FM-CFS Canada's web site, at fm-cfs.ca
We are asking you to show your support for the patients and their families whose lives change too when these chronic and
often disabling illnesses enter their lives. Together, the million patients
and their families are a large part of Canada, and they need your support.
Fibromyalgia presents widespread neuropathic pain, while Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis adds never-ending fatigue to the pain,
plus at least two neurological changes, and often, a dysfunctional immune
system. Further medical conditions often follow, raising the cost of
health care. Indeed, most patients experience a wide range of secondary symptoms and increased co-morbidities, some life-threatening. A career is often foregone, as are savings for retirement.
More than 30,000 innocent people start this journey into pain and fatigue
every year, some under 10 years old. Fortunately, recent research is
showing how the illnesses function, the biological basis for the symptoms.
But there is not yet a cure, nor true relief from the symptoms, no
medications specifically designed for the illnesses, and very little
Canadian research. There is very little Federal research because the
patient groups can not afford to fund the pilot studies that generally
support applications for larger Canadian Institutes of Health Research
funding grants.
These illnesses cost the Federal Government billions of dollars every year
in the following ways: 1) Disability insurance 2) lost income and GST
revenues 3) lost productivity in the economy. Until patients get better
care from more educated practitioners whose services are properly
reimbursed, their health will not improve, and the Federal expenses will not
drop.
We invite you to write a letter of moral support and demonstrate your
compassion for this large community. We ask you to show your moral support
for improved education, treatment and research for the more than one million
Canadians who live in a tortured state with these chronic illnesses.
Thank you,
Your Name
