Selma Blair is having ‘the time of my life’ in remission from multiple sclerosis
Selma Blair, actor and advocate for multiple-sclerosis awareness, is ready to speak openly about living in remission from the chronic illness.
While promoting her forthcoming Discovery+ documentary at a panel hosted Monday by the Television Critics Assn., the “Cruel Intentions” star credited a stem cell transplant with successfully ending a painful, years-long MS flare that significantly impacted her speech and mobility.
“My prognosis is great,” she told reporters at the TCA event, according to People magazine. “Stem cell put me in remission. ... It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down.”
Actor Selma Blair had some kind words for her ‘Sweetest Thing’ costar Christina Applegate after Applegate went public with her multiple sclerosis journey.
Last October, the veteran performer confirmed via Instagram that her MS was in remission, two years after she went public with her diagnosis. In 2019, Blair underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplant and chemotherapy in an effort to restore her immune system.
Though she has been in good health lately, Blair said Monday she was initially hesitant to discuss her recent progress after feeling “unwell and misunderstood for so long.
“I was reluctant to talk about it because I felt this need to be more healed and more fixed,” she said.
“I’ve accrued a lifetime of some baggage in the brain that still needs a little sorting out or accepting. That took me a minute to get to that acceptance. It doesn’t look like this for everyone.”
Blair participated in this week’s TCA programming to preview the upcoming film “Introducing, Selma Blair,” which documents the highs and lows of the TV and movie star’s challenging battle with MS.
Actress Selma Blair shared in an emotional Instagram post that she was “feeling alone and vulnerable and scared” as she fought multiple sclerosis.
Throughout her MS journey, Blair has used her platform to share her experience and educate others about the condition, which affects the central nervous system. Last week, she offered words of love and support to her “Sweetest Thing” costar Christina Applegate, who was recently diagnosed with the same disease.
“To hear even just me showing up with a cane or sharing something that might be embarrassing, it was a key for a lot of people in finding comfort in themselves and that means everything to me,” Blair said.
Directed by Rachel Fleit, “Introducing, Selma Blair” premieres Oct. 15 in theaters and Oct. 21 on Discovery+.
“I never really [liked] life,” Blair said Monday. “I do now — strange, huh? ... I was so scared in life. To suddenly start to find an identity and a safety in me, to figure out boundaries, time management and energy — I’m having the time of my life.”
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