My Mom’s Medical Crisis Brought Me to the End of Innocence

Each person’s experience of having a sick parent is different. For me, it was relatively easy until my mom’s condition became a crisis. From the start, I refused to research any terms that I’d overheard. I didn’t want to know what Dr. Google had to say about “interstitial lung…

Being diagnosed with any type of life-threatening illness will inevitably change a person. This is especially true when there is no link (i.e., genetic predisposition) or reason to think that anything could be wrong, or when the illness is unlikely to target someone due to their age. That was my…

With 250 rare diseases newly identified every year, scientists can barely keep up — even as the healthcare system fails millions of Americans whose rare diseases have already been diagnosed. That’s the warning from Christopher P. Austin, MD, director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Studies(NCATS) at the…

Loss of productivity in the workplace is common among patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD), and is associated with symptom severity and higher costs, according to data from a Canadian registry study. The study, “Costs of Workplace Productivity Loss in Patients with Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease,” was…

High levels of nitric oxide in the lungs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are associated with faster disease progression and worse survival, researchers in Italy report. The findings were described in the study “Alveolar concentration of nitric oxide as a prognostic biomarker in idiopathic…

Lung injuries caused during the progression of pulmonary fibrosis can lead to an increase in two inflammatory proteins, IL-6 and IL-33, which can trigger muscle damage and weight loss, a mouse study says. The study, “Elevation of IL-6 and IL-33 Levels in Serum Associated with Lung…

It is hard to admit that my chronic lung disease is having more than a physical impact on me. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a relentless, cruel disease and sometimes it causes me to behave in ways that leave me feeling ashamed. This disease sets me apart from most of…

I named my column “Courage to Care” because I wanted to convey that it takes a lot of guts to be a caregiver. The moment I decided to take responsibility for protecting my mother, I became a courage-making machine. I have mustered courage all day, every day, to face…

Rosavin, an active compound found in the plant Rhodiola rosea, commonly known as golden root or Aaron’s rod, can prevent pulmonary fibrosis (PF) manifestations in mice, a study has found. This discovery, published in the journal Biomedicine & Pharmocotherapy, suggests that rosavin may be a promising candidate…

I vividly remember being told I had something called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). That day and conversation will be forever etched in my mind. I looked at the specialist revealing the news and said to him, “OK. What’s that?” Like most people, I’d never heard of this disease before…