Hege from Norway, who has lived with multiple sclerosis since 2007, arrived at HSCT Hospital India using a wheelchair. As her treatment ended, Hege was walking through the room with a stick or crutch, much better than before, says her friend and attendant Venke. Hege says she can now move the toes on her left foot.
Multiple sclerosis, usually shortened to MS, is a disease in which the immune system attacks myelin. Myelin is the protective coating around the nerve fibres of the brain and spinal cord. Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, known as HSCT, uses the patient’s own blood forming stem cells to rebuild that immune system. Before those stem cells are returned, chemotherapy clears out the faulty immune cells. Hege had this treatment at HSCT Hospital India and recorded this video with Venke just after it ended, while both were still in India.
| Hege from Norway: HSCT for MS Results at a Glance |
| Patient | Hege, from Norway |
| Condition | Multiple sclerosis, which she has lived with since 2007 |
| Treatment | Autologous HSCT at HSCT Hospital India, New Delhi |
| Attendant | Her friend Venke, who also travelled from Norway |
| Time in hospital | Thirty days, in a deluxe private room with triple level HEPA air filtration |
| Walking on arrival | She was sitting in a wheelchair and needed support to walk a few steps to the bathroom |
| Walking at the end of treatment | Venke says she was walking through the room with a stick or crutch, much better than before |
| Other changes Hege names | Her sight is much better and she reads her phone without glasses. Her walking has improved very much. She can move the toes on her left foot, feels stronger, has better balance and thinks faster |
| Why India | Hege says the hospital’s first patient from Norway is the reason she chose HSCT Hospital India |
| Recorded | At the end of treatment, while Hege and Venke were still in India |
| Package price today | 30,000 US dollars, all inclusive, for up to thirty days in hospital |
Living with MS in Norway since 2007
Hege has had MS since 2007. When she reached India she had difficulty walking, and Venke says she was using a wheelchair.
Even the few steps to the bathroom were only possible with someone supporting her, Venke says. Other things had become difficult for her as well.
Why Hege chose HSCT Hospital India
Hege chose HSCT Hospital India because of another woman from Norway. By Hege’s account, that woman was the hospital’s first patient from Norway.
"She is the reason why I chose this hospital."
Hege, Norway
Patients come to HSCT Hospital India from more than 30 countries. More than 1,500 people with MS have been treated in its world class facilities. Those facilities are accredited by the Joint Commission International of the USA, known as JCI-USA. They are also accredited by NABH and NABL, India’s national accreditation boards for hospitals and for laboratories. One all inclusive price of 30,000 US dollars covers a stay of up to thirty days, with no long waiting list.
Hege chose this hospital because of another patient from Norway. If you are weighing it up the same way she did, the hospital will email you the same details. They cover the treatment itself, the thirty days in hospital and what the one price pays for.
Get HSCT India Brochure Emailed to you
What changed by the end of treatment
Hege lists the changes one by one. The first is in her left foot, where she says she can now move her toes.
"My sight is much better. I can read on my cell phone without my glasses. And my walking has improved very much, and I feel stronger, and my balance is much better since I started for three, four days ago. And my brain is better. My thoughts are going faster."
Hege, recorded at HSCT Hospital India
Venke saw the change in Hege’s walking and thinking from the outside. Hege had just finished her treatment when Venke described it.
"Her walking is better. She can use this stick or crutch, and she can walk through the room much better than before. As she just said, it is easier for her to think."
Venke, Hege’s attendant
Patients with MS can ask whether HSCT suits their own case. HSCT specialist doctors at HSCT Hospital India review the details each patient sends. An HSCT case manager then replies personally, free of charge and with no obligation.
Get Free Expert Opinion Now
Travelling from Norway with an attendant
Venke came with Hege as her attendant and stayed for the whole admission. She speaks about the care she received herself as well as the care Hege received.
"They have treated me so well. They are very, very professional, and I love them."
Venke, Hege’s attendant
An attendant shares the patient’s deluxe private room for the whole stay. The room has triple level HEPA air filtration, which uses fine filters to take dust and germs out of the air. The attendant’s stay, food and laundry are all inside the one all inclusive price, along with airport pick-up and drop-back.
What the treatment asks of a patient
Venke calls the treatment tough, and in the same breath she says the doctors, the nurses and their assistants all did a very good job.
"She has been through a tough treatment, but doctors here have done a very good job. Also the nurses and their assistants have done a very good job."
Venke, Hege’s attendant
HSCT is demanding because the chemotherapy that clears the faulty immune cells also lowers the body’s defences against infection. For this reason every patient at HSCT Hospital India stays in hospital for the whole treatment. The patient stays in the deluxe private room with triple level HEPA air filtration while the immune system is at its weakest. Nursing care and monitoring continue around the clock. Neuro physiotherapy, exercise guided by a physiotherapist to rebuild strength and movement, is included in the package.
Reading what the treatment asks of you is one thing, and deciding whether you could manage it usually takes a conversation. That conversation costs you nothing. An HSCT case manager will call you at a time that suits you and go through it.
Request a Call Back
HSCT for MS patients from Norway
Patients from Norway start with the same free case review as every other patient at HSCT Hospital India. They fill in the online application form, and HSCT specialist doctors review it and give an initial opinion. An HSCT case manager then guides the trip. On arrival in New Delhi, a full medical evaluation confirms suitability for HSCT.
Each of these steps is set out in detail on the How It Works page. The checks behind that initial opinion are explained on the HSCT eligibility criteria page. The treatment itself, in four stages, and its published results are covered in the HSCT for multiple sclerosis guide. Marie, another patient from Norway, tells her own story on the Marie from Norway page.
Transcript of the video
Hege: Hello, my name is Hege and I am from Norway, and I have been suffering from MS since 2007.
Hege: She is a lady who was here. She was the first patient in hospital from Norway, or from, yeah. And she is the reason why I chose this hospital.
Hege: Now I have experienced that my left foot, my toes, I can now move my toes on my left foot. And my sight is much better. I can read on my cell phone without my glasses.
Hege: And my walking has improved very much, and I feel stronger, and my balance is much better since I started for three, four days ago. And my brain is better. My thoughts are going faster.
Venke: My name is Venke and I am also from Norway. I am a medical attendant for Hege. When we came to India she had difficulties walking. She was sitting in the wheelchair, and just by walking a few steps to the bathroom, we had to support her, or else she was going like that. And it was also difficult for her to do other things.
Venke: She has been through a tough treatment, but doctors here have done a very good job. Also the nurses and their assistants have done a very good job.
Venke: And although we are still in India and she just finished her treatment, I have already seen improvement. Her walking is better. She can use this stick or crutch, and she can walk through the room much better than before. As she just said, it is easier for her to think. She is thinking faster, and I can see a lot of changes.
Venke: So I am looking forward to see her maybe after a year or so. We have planned to meet at a mountain where we live, up north, and I am looking forward to see her run and do all the things that she wants with her family.
Venke: They have treated me so well. They are very, very professional, and I love them.
Patients in Norway and across Europe can have their own case reviewed by the HSCT specialist doctors at HSCT Hospital India before deciding anything. An HSCT case manager answers personally, free of charge, with no obligation.
Get Free Expert Opinion Now
Read next
HSCT for multiple sclerosis: the full treatment guide
HSCT eligibility criteria
HSCT cost by country, India compared with other destinations
Marie from Norway
How long it takes to recover after HSCT for MS
More patient stories from HSCT Hospital India
