June is ALS Awareness Month

May 24, 2010

Ottawa Journal (May 24 – May 28, 2010)
David Tilson, M.P. (Dufferin-Caledon)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gherig’s disease as it is often called, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. ALS causes the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle control, resulting in victims slowly losing control of their motor functions. As the disease progresses, it causes severe muscle atrophy throughout the body, due to the inability to voluntarily initiate muscle movement. As ALS targets muscles throughout the body, the disease leads to extreme difficulty eating, swallowing, and even breathing. The majority of ALS victims eventually succumb to respiratory failure within three to five years of diagnosis. There is no known cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and the exact cause remains a mystery.

To make matters even more pressing, the incidence of the disease is increasing proportionally to Canada’s aging demographic, as is true of other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, neurodegenerative diseases are predicted to surpass cancer as the second leading cause of death in Canada by 2040. Currently, ALS claims the lives of two to three Canadians each day.

This terrible disease claimed the life of my father, and I have since introduced and frequently reintroduced, a private member’s bill to denote June as ALS month throughout Canada. Given the mysteries surrounding the causes and cure of Lou Gherig’s disease, it is my hope that by making June the official ALS month, we can drastically increase awareness of this horrible disease and come one step closer to finding a cure.  

I encourage all Canadians to get involved in the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis throughout June and beyond. ALS fundraising events are organized throughout the country by the ALS Society of Canada and their two main events are a walk and hike for ALS. This year the society is hosting a walk right here in Orangeville on June 5th at the Island Lake Conservation Area. For more information on ALS fundraising events visit: http://www.als.ca/events/ and for more information on the Orangeville event specifically please visit: http://www.als.ca/events/location_detail.aspx?l=501. Together we can and will defeat this terrible disease.