Actress Selma Blair, 51, best known for her roles in “Cruel Intentions” and “Legally Blonde,” is a proud mom to her 12-year-old son. She’s brought him along for her journey with multiple sclerosis, including an emotional segment where he shaved her head amid treatment.
Blair has reached remission after a long, tough battle with multiple sclerosis. She was diagnosed with MS in 2018.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and central nervous system that causes numbness or weakness in the limbs, fatigue, lack of coordination, blurry vision, and unsteady gait.
Blair turned to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) (also called bone marrow transplantation) to help treat her MS. This form of therapy helps “reset the immune system.”
Research published in Frontiers in Neurology in 2022 cited several studies and clinical trials showing promise in helping MS patients manage their condition. One study found that “83% of patients” who underwent a bone marrow transplant were left with “no evidence of disease” within just two years.
Actress Selma Blair, 51, continues to showcase her resilience as an entrepreneur, multiple sclerosis advocate, actress, and mother. However, her role as a mom supersedes all others. Her son, Arthur is now a pre-teen, and his curiosity about her MS journey and other forms of work that she does are among the things the “Legally Blonde” actress has embraced most.
Blair included her 12-year-old son in an emotional segment in her documentary “Introducing Selma Blair,” which shows part of her multiple sclerosis journey. Within the film, a scene shows a young Arthur shaving his mom’s head before she underwent a stem cell transplant in 2019. At the time, Blair turned to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) (also called bone marrow transplantation) to help treat her MS. This form of therapy helps “reset the immune system.” It involves taking stem cells from the bone marrow or blood, wiping the immune system clean with chemotherapy, and reintroducing the cells to grow a new immune system.
Research published by NEJM Journal Watch says that AHSCT helps MS patients with relapse reduction better than some other forms of MS treatment.
(@selmablair/Instagram)
Blair told People Magazine during a previous interview that she doesn’t think her son remembers many details about her journey during that time because he was younger. She wanted Arthur to participate in her MS journey because she felt it would “help him be in control of [his] mom looking different,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
Blair added when she receives honors for her work, Arthur tends to ask questions like, “Are you getting paid? Can I have money?”
“My son is perfectly 12. I’m sure he is proud,” she added. She dedicated a heartfelt social media post on his birthday to her son, claiming how proud she is to be his mom.
“I am so proud of who you are and have become,” Blair said in the Instagram post.
Helping Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Resources
Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 after experiencing symptoms related to MS for “many, many, many years” before being officially diagnosed, according to a previous interview she gave with Entertainment Tonight.
Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to communicate to the body’s arms, legs, and other parts to function normally.
(@selmablair/Instagram)
Symptoms often associated with multiple sclerosis may include numbness, tingling, or sudden limb weakness that affects just one side of the body. Common symptoms include vision problems, lack of coordination, unsteady gait, and fatigue.
There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.
Common tools MS patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces, and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).
A study in American Family Physician found that DMTs “has been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”
DMTs help stave off attacks of the disease and prevent relapses, which are triggered when the central nervous system becomes inflamed.
(@selmablair/Instagram)
The drug mitoxantrone, which has been used as a DMT, is currently the only chemotherapeutic agent approved for the treatment of MS in the United States. An injection is usually given once every three months for about two to three years. The drug only helps control the disease and does not cure it.
While chemotherapy is widely known as a cancer treatment, it is also effective at slowing down or stopping disease activity in MS.
Blair underwent chemotherapy as part of her treatment for MS. She shared a photo on her Instagram post-chemotherapy of her hair regrowth after losing it during treatment, a common side effect of chemotherapy.
“A large amount of our chemotherapies do cause hair loss, not all of them,” Vivian Rusziewicz, a Nurse Practitioner for Ohio Health, told SurvivorNet.
“Generally, in terms of hair loss, it would begin about three weeks, three to four weeks, after your first chemotherapy treatment. Generally, people will start to see some regrowth about four to six weeks after their last treatment. As long as you aren’t being treated with another medication that might cause hair loss,” Rusziewicz added.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you are facing a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, you may be interested in learning more about treatment options to help you best manage your symptoms. Below are some questions to help kickstart a conversation with your doctor for solutions.
What forms of treatment do you believe would be most effective based on my MS symptoms?
Are there any side effects I should expect if I started the recommended treatment?
How likely am I to be eligible for HSCT chemotherapy to help treat my MS?
