'Revenge' matriarch enlists in MS battle

As Victoria Grayson on ABCs Revenge, Madeleine Stowe plays a ruthless matriarch. Off the screen, TV villainy can translate into good works. Stowe is using her celebrity to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis and drawing on memories of her late fathers battle against the disease.

Its really important that people communicate with each other, that caregivers communicate, said Stowe, 56. Ask questions: What does it feel like? Do not isolate. Thats crucial.

She will take part in Lights, Camera, Take Action on MS at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hilton Orlando, 6001 Destination Parkway (the event is free; register at takeactionms.com).

Stowe has partnered with Genzyme, part of the Sanofi health-care company. She is a paid spokesman for Genzyme and she said she donates the money to a group that deals with health and human dignity issues. She doesnt discuss treatment options for MS, a disease of the central nervous system that can be disabling.

I talk about my own personal experience, what its like to be a family member, to reach out to neighbors, to create a support system, she said.

Her father, a civil engineer for the state of California, lived with MS for about 20 years before his death in 1983. She recalled as a child being hyper-vigilant about her dad, tending to his needs and changing his sheets.

He was a real enigma to me, she said. I was looking at him and trying to find a way inside. I loved him and adored him and wanted to take care of his needs. To watch him decline was very difficult. There were no treatment options at that time. He was a mystery as much as MS was. It went hand in hand.

Dr. Mark Cascione said Stowe can encourage people to become more proactive in a world of new medicines and increased knowledge. We can do a lot to slow down the progression of MS, said Cascione, a neurologist who will appear at the event with Stowe. We can be more successful if we do it as early as possible.

Stowe saw the issue in personal terms: If Dad were alive, Id want him to look at everything to slow the progression.

Talking about MS takes her back. I turned inward in my adolescence, she said. I did grow up quickly. I was exposed to things that were very dramatic and most kids shouldnt be exposed to.

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'Revenge' matriarch enlists in MS battle