Cystic Fibrosis Awareness

May is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month

I know you all support Nick, But do you really know what Cystic Fibrosis is? Well if not now is the time to learn.I know personally I love seeing support for breast cancer and all the other foundations. On the other hand I am tired of telling people my husband has Cystic Fibrosis for them not to know what it is.

So here are some facts about Cystic Fibrosis....

In order to get Cystic Fibrosis both of your parents have to be carriers, Not have it but be genetic carriers

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, particularly the lungs and pancreas. When mucus clogs the lungs, it can make breathing very difficult. The thick mucus also causes bacteria (or germs) to get stuck in the airways, which causes inflammation (or swelling) and infections that lead to lung damage.

Approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States have cystic fibrosis. An additional ten million more—or about one in every 31 Americans—are carriers of the defective CF gene, but do not have the disease. CF is most common in Caucasians, but it can affect all races.to person.

Is there A cure for Cystic Fibrosis?....Not yet!!! But we are making GREAT STRIDES towards A cure. Through aggressive research and studies

Does A lung transplant cure Cystic Fibrosis?.... No. A lung transplant will not cure CF because the defective gene that causes the disease is in all of the cells in the body, not just in the lungs. At this time, scientists are not able to “fix” genes permanently (see gene therapy). While a transplant does give a person with CF a new set of lungs, the rest of the cells in the body still have CF and may already be damaged by the disease. Further, organ rejection is always possible and drugs that help prevent organ rejection can cause other health problems