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AN OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL J. FOX William A. Harshaw 401 - 120 Rosedale Valley Road Toronto, ON M4W 1P8 Canada (416) 925-4814 Fax (416) 925-8146 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Dear Michael: I can't tell you how much I admire your courage, first in telling the public that you have Parkinson's Disease, second in actively lobbying for research funding to discover the causes and develop the cures for PD. Your sunny disposition coupled with the seemingly effortless ability to put the proposition you are advancing in simple yet non-patronising terms is a tremendous asset. I have had Parkinson's Disease for twenty years, having been diagnosed when I was thirty-seven. I had to retire on long-term disability when I was forty-five. I had a right side unilateral pallidotomy in 1993 and was the first North American patient to have DBS a year later. I have been blessed with a second chance at life as a result of those operations. I would like to draw your attention to an aspect of Parkinson's Disease and other neurological conditions that concerns me greatly. That is the question of therapy access. Deep Brain Stimulation was approved by the FDA as palliative therapy for PD on March 31 of this year. It was approved five years ago in Canada. Notwithstanding this approval, hospital boards and provincial ministers of health have not provided the operating funds and operating room time to perform these procedures effectively negates the approval. Access denied is worse than access unapproved because patients are put on a waiting list of almost infinite length, thus creating false hope that they may actually have the operation. The procedures are cost-effective, safe and improve the patient's qaliy of life. I realize, Michael, that your good name is the only currency you possess and that you must be very carefl not to do anything that would devalue it in any way. I urge you to take the question of therapy access as one of your PD causes in Canada, hee it is a problem and i the United States before it becomes a problem. Sincerely, Bill Harshaw