Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2005. While sharing her story love on air, she revealed that she was in the middle of a flare-up of pain.
MS is a disease of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. For some people, it can be disabling.
Symptoms of MS can include numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, tingling, electric-shock sensations that happen with certain neck movements, coordination issues and trouble or the inability to walk, among others.
While there is no cure for MS, patients do have ways of managing their symptoms, like chemotherapy or a stem cell transplant. Canes and leg braces can also help people get around.
If you're an MS warrior in need of inspiration, check out SurvivorNet's Multiple Sclerosis page for moving content including films about other MS warriors like Dean.
Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, 53, may look healthy and happy while on TV. But behind the scenes, she’s dealing with a debilitating disease called multiple sclerosis (MS), and she even battled a flare-up of pain while live on air.
Dean revealed how she’s doing today in a segment to raise awareness about what she called her “invisible disease” for World MS Day.
Dean was first diagnosed with MS in 2005 after experiencing “classic symptoms” of the disease such as numbness, tingling and fatigue.
“I was very tired,” she said. “Not just getting out of bed because you didn’t get a lot of sleep, I mean the fact that i couldn’t get out of bed tired.”
“We call this an invisible disease,” she explained.
“You can’t tell, on the surface, that I have something attacking my immune system. I actually am experiencing a flare up today, something that happens, you know, not often, but the symptoms are I have almost a pain in my back that feels like a sunburn. So, we can look well on my face, my body, but inside is attacking itself and I feel like I will have this the rest of my life.”
Fans flooded Dean’s social media with prayers and well wishes, thanking her for sharing her story.
Some people commented with the praying hands emoji, while others offered their prayers for her health.
“I have had hundreds of people reach out telling me how grateful they were that I had talked about my diagnosis, because they were also afraid to tell anyone,” Dean said on Instagram of helping other MS warriors feel seen when she first revealed her disease nearly 20 years ago.
“I'm so glad I was brave. I'm still hopeful, and it's helped shape the person I am today.”
Learning About Janice Dean’s Disease: Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis, like what Janice Dean has, is also called MS. It’s a disease of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. For some people, it can be disabling.
When a person has MS, the immune system attacks the protective layer of nerve fibers called myelin. This, in turn, can cause communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body.
As the disease progresses, it can lead to permanent damage of the nerve fibers.
According to the Mayo Clinic, signs and symptoms of MS can vary widely depending on the severity and location of a person’s damage to their nerve fibers. The symptoms may also fluctuate over time.
Common symptoms include:
Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs this usually occurs on one side of your body at a time
Tingling
Electric-shock sensations that happen with certain neck movements like bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
Coordination issues
Trouble or the inability to walk
Partial or complete vision loss typically in one eye at a time, often with pain when the eye moves
Prolonged double vision
Blurry vision
Vertigo
Sexual/bowel/bladder issues
Fatigue
Slurred speech
Cognitive issues
Mood disturbances
The above symptoms are not exclusive to MS, but it's important to talk to your doctor if you struggle with any of the above or notice concerning changes to your health.
MS warriors may experience new symptoms, or relapses, followed by quieter periods of disease remission. Both relapse and remission lengths can vary. Some people with MS even experience years-long remissions.
If you're an MS warrior looking for inspiration, check out SurvivorNet's Multiple Sclerosis page for moving content including films about other MS warriors like Janice Dean.
MS Treatment
There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.
Chemotherapy is an option for treatment to manage symptoms, because chemo drugs can kill cells that break down the nervous system, slowing down or stopping the disease. It's a method actress Selma Blair used on her MS journey.
(@selmablair/Instagram)
Blair was diagnosed with MS in 2018. 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, previously told SurvivorNet.
Blair also had a stem cell transplant to help manage her symptoms.
A stem cell transplant also called a "bone marrow transplant" is a treatment used for some cancers and diseases, and it replaces bone marrow with healthy cells.
A side effect of stem cell transplant is that it wipes out the immune system, meaning the MS warrior is more vulnerable to infections, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. As a result, this kind of treatment requires staying away from people and avoiding certain foods that could make you sick.
Many MS warriors use items like wheelchairs, canes, leg braces and other tools to get around.
