Today (Sept. 8th) is World Wide Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Day and I wanted to take this chance and educate my followers on what CF is.
So what is Cystic Fibrosis?
According the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) website (I will link it at the end if you are interested in learning more.), “Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time.” To explain further, I will be quoting their website more, “In people with CF, mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene cause the CFTR protein to become dysfunctional. When the protein is not working correctly, it’s unable to help move chloride -- a component of salt -- to the cell surface. Without the chloride to attract water to the cell surface, the mucus in various organs becomes thick and sticky.In the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps germs, like bacteria, leading to infections, inflammation, respiratory failure, and other complications. For this reason, minimizing contact with germs is a top concern for people with CF.”
Is every case of CF is the same?
No, there are over 1,700 known mutations of CF.
According to the CFF’s website “More than 30,000 people are living with cystic fibrosis (more than 70,000 worldwide). Approximately 1,000 new cases of CF are diagnosed each year. More than 75 percent of people with CF are diagnosed by age 2. More than half of the CF population is age 18 or older.”
In many ways, with airway clearance due to the thicker mucus in our lungs. Inhaled medicines, Pancreatic enzyme supplements, a normal fitness plan, CFTR modulators. Sometimes cases do need lung transplants.
Do I speak for every single CF patient?
No, I don’t. Each CF patient has their own story. My goal by doing this is just to get heard, to spread awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.
Does anyone else in my family have CF?
Yes but I’d rather not get into detail with that.
How has my life been affected by having CF?
I’ll be honest, in my younger years I tried to keep it a secret. I didn’t want the kids at school to look at me differently or to bully me for who I was. I was lucky enough when people found out they were accepting of it. At first I didn’t really have to take enzymes but now later in life I do. I do breathing treatments twice a day, just because it’s routine now I’ve been doing it for years now.
(The site I use: https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/)
If you have any more questions about CF just ask and I will answer to the best of my ability. Like I said, every case is different.
