Leeton Multiple Sclerosis diagnosee Jackie Retallick draws the support of her community

"Initially, I was quite positive about it, I thought oh, it's just MS, it's not a brain tumour, I'm going to be ok," she said.

"I was as grateful as you can be to have something like MS.

"The next few months after that were a roller coaster though really - some days it's fine, but other days it really sucks."

MS, sometimes referred to as the "invisible disease", is a chronic neurological disease with no known cause or cure. three out of four people with MS are women. Most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

Common symptoms are chronic nerve pain, loss of strength and mobility, numbness, or loss of vision.

Ms Retallick's pathway to diagnosis started when she started suffering pain in her eyes. While she was warned it might be MS, it was not until a doctor told her she might have a brain tumour she was motivated to get the MRI that may have saved her life.

Determined to raise awareness of her condition, Jackie is taking part in The May 50k, The May 50K is a challenge asking participants to run or walk 50K in May, with the purpose to raise funds for life-changing research into MS.

Jackie has set a goal to raise over $15,000, supported by a 23 strong team of family and friends in Leeton, and local Gym Rise and Shine. This would be an improvement on the $14,000 they raised last year.

But the event will be no walk in the park for Jackie, who suffers chronic pain in her left side, and especially her hip.

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"I'll be taking it a few kilometres at a time, and going out with friends," she said.

"Plus wearing compression pants really tight against my hip to make sure everything stays in place."

Thanks to research on the condition, there are now 12 treatments that alleviate symptoms and/or slow progression, but still no cure. Jackie said her treatment is "70 per cent effective," but a lack of available health services in Leeton made managing the disease harder that it would otherwise be.

While there are neurologists available in Wagga, the specifics of her condition force her to make the 6 hour trip to Sydney to see a specialist.

"Along with MS, I also have Immunoglobulin A deficiency, so I need to see an MS specialist Neuroimmunologist, which means Sydney," she said.

"Just to get an MRI, I have to go to Wagga. It's only an hour and a half away, but you basically have to take a whole day to travel there and back.

"We don't have very good mental health services either ... the recommendation with MS is to see a psychologist to help with what is almost a grieving process, but trying to access one is incredibly difficult."

There are currently 25,600 people living with MS in Australia, with ten people receiving new diagnoses each week.

Warning signs for MS are as diverse as the people who suffer from it. Common early warning signs include painful loss of vision in one eye, facial paralysis, ongoing dizziness or numbness, and persistent limb numbness.

You can contribute to Jackie's MS fundraising efforts at: https://www.themay50k.org/fundraisers/TeamJackie20

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