Yukoners suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) will have the chance to undergo clinical trials of the liberation treatment.

About six Yukon residents will be chosen for the controversial treatment in Albany, N.Y., after passing a series of screenings.

The procedure uses angioplasty to widen blood vessels, and is reported to improve everything from eyesight to fatigue.

It's not yet legal in Canada, and many Canadians have flown to places like Costa Rica and India to undergo the procedure.

"We're all patting ourselves on the back for all the hard work we've done to get to this point,” Jenny Roberts, a Whitehorse resident with MS and the president of the territory's MS association, told the Star today.

Roberts said the association invited then-Health and Social Services minister Glen Hart and deputy minister Stuart Whitley to a monthly meeting a year ago. They wanted to learn whether the government would send Yukoners to Saskatchewan to participate in the province's trials.

The government agreed to partnering with the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation by sending about a dozen Yukoners down south for trials. But they never happened.

"Once the trials fell through, we were concerned what would happen,” Roberts said.

"These new trials involve a few less people, but we're still really happy.”

The Department of Health and Social Services estimated there are between 120 and 140 people in the Yukon with MS.

Roberts guesses it's anywhere between 100 and 200.

"I think everybody who has MS in the Yukon is going to be interested in this,” she said.

On Tuesday, the government invited Yukoners with MS to apply for the trials in Albany.

Of those applicants, 10 will be chosen through a random selection process to participate in the initial telephone interview.

From those who are interviewed, the government anticipates seven or eight will pass and be sent to Regina for the in-person part of the screening program.

This will involve a medical exam, specialized diagnostic imaging and a consent process.

Applications are due back to the government by April 30. The handful of residents who pass the screening process could be in New York as early as June.

"I think they're doing their best to ensure everybody has a fair chance, but at the same time I know we're all keeping our fingers and toes crossed we're the lucky ones to get picked,” said Roberts.

She submitted her application Tuesday morning, right after she heard the news.

The trial is a double-blind study. That means some people will receive the real angioplasty while other will get a similar procedure that acts as a placebo.

Both the patients and the neurologist in Regina won't know if they received the real liberation treatment until the trials are done.

"As frustrating as that might sound, I support it in full,” said Roberts.

She explained there has been a lot of controversy over the psychological effects of the treatment.

"Some people are adamant that it's just a placebo and it's all in your head, and then there are those who have had it done and swear by it,” said Roberts.

"Hopefully, this puts some of these myths to bed.”