Access to Palliative Care for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Malaysia

Multiple sclerosis is an incurable, degenerative disease that causes patients to suffer from physical and psychological suffering. Patients with multiple sclerosis often suffer as much from their symptoms as patients with cancer. Despite that, patients with multiple sclerosis in Malaysia often do not receive palliative care that could help them relieve their suffering and improve their quality of life. This thesis identified some of the factors preventing patients with multiple sclerosis in Malaysia from receiving palliative care. This includes the lack of awareness of multiple sclerosis in general and the needs of its patients, the lack of understanding of palliative care, and a healthcare model that makes it easy to deny rather than to provide palliative care to patients.