It was kicked off on a Today Show interview with Cindy McCain. Cindy is the wife of Senator John McCain. She has been a Migraineur for more than 20 years and is the official spokesperson for this campaign.
The campaign is looking to raise money to spend directly on better treatments and more research for a potential cure of Migraine disease. The goal is to raise $1 for each of the 36 million Americans with Migraines. In the interview, Cindy said; “People are afraid to talk about it (Migraine)”. “Their coworkers think they’re faking it.” “Their family thinks they’re faking it.” “We’re kind of the child that gets the leftovers in Migraine.”
Did you know that there is only one innovative drug that has been designed for Migraine in 50 years?
There are several ways you can help this campaign reach its goal. You can:
• donate on-line
• fill out a .pdf donation form
• text 36mill to 50555 now to donate $10 via your cell phone bill #36millmigraine
Don’t forget that some corporations have a matching donation program. You may want to check with your HR department about your company’s matching gift policy. If your company participates, you can obtain a matching gift form from your employer. Donations to the American Migraine Foundation are tax-deductible.
There are 8 core Message Points about the 36 Million Migraine Campaign and Migraines:
• The 36 Million Migraine Campaign is the first of its kind. It is dedicated to increasing our nation’s research investment in Migraine and raising public visibility.
• 36 Million Americans have Migraine which is one of the world’s most prevalent and disabling medical disorders.
• Migraine research is vastly underfunded by government, industry and the voluntary health sector. Can you believe it’s less than 1/20th of 1% of the National Institutes of Health budget? That’s only about $16 million a year which is dismal.
• Cindy McCain chairs the campaign and partnered with the American Migraine Foundation to lead the ambitious, much needed campaign.
• Migraine is not ‘just another headache’. It is trivialized by way too many people and has been around for at least the last 7,000 years.
• Even though Migraine can be a severely disabling and painful disease, people without Migraines view the disease as episodic and not usually fatal; therefore not a funding priority.
• I’m going to be a little paranoid here and say they were talking about me with this seventh core message – People with Migraine often ‘play down’ its pain and impact on their lives, fearing it will threaten their employability or reliability.
• Migraine is not taught in medical school. Oy. Most physicians received little to no training in Migraine which keeps it from being properly recognized as a serious medical condition and/or treated effectively.
These are all reasons why the 36 Million Migraine Campaign is so important. As the campaign says, together we will all be pioneers – because no one has ever tackled Migraine funding on a scale like this before.
