Palliative care is about trying to get it right for the patient and the patient is in the best position to explain the problems. People living with MS want to be given the chance to tell their story.

MS can disrupt many aspects of life and cause people to feel they have lost control. One way to help restore it is for professionals to listen, to hear what concerns them most and how they would like to see things happen.

Explaining problems will help, for example the side effects as well as the benefits of treatments. Make choices clear and sensitively tell the truth. People with MS know a lot about powerlessness and will understand you may not have all the answers.

Symptom control is an important part of palliative care for some people living with MS. In my experience people are not looking for miracles. But they do want to be taken seriously and feel that you will support them and their carers when things are difficult.

In palliative care, we work as a team of professionals with different skills. We tackle ethical issues like life-prolonging treatments in some cases of very advanced MS. The aim is to try to do what the person wants and to discuss difficult issues long before they arise.

And dying? Yes, it's important to help people do this with dignity when the time comes, but let's allow them to flourish before then.