Most of society thinks of grief in the context of a loved one’s death. However, people with chronic illness grieve other things as well, such as personal losses inflicted by disease. Since my 2016 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis, I have become increasingly aware of the things I’ve…
Grieving the Workplace Skills I’ve Lost Due to IPF
Gait speed, measured by the four meter gait speed (4MGS) test, is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and hospitalization in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a recent study. The tool could be used as a prognostic approach to select cohorts in clinical trials, optimize trial endpoints,…
Pulmonary fibrosis patients need all the compassion we can get. It turns out that the most important person to give us compassion is … ourselves! A growing body of work demonstrates the powerful effects of self-compassion on our health. Studies have shown that people…
The nasal epithelium of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) shows different levels of gene expression implicated in inflammatory and immune responses than those without the disease, a study reports. According to the researchers, these findings support nasal sampling as a noninvasive and inexpensive approach to identify and monitor…
Veracyte recently announced the expansion of an early access program offering the Envisia Genomic Classifier test for the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In the U.S., 20 medical centers in 12 states are now offering the Envisia Genomic test through the program, and the company expects it to…
Esbriet (pirfenidone) can improve survival rates of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients by 30 percent, a real-world retrospective analysis shows. The study, “Pirfenidone improves survival in IPF: results from a real-life study,” was published in the journal BMC Pulmonary Medicine. Genentech’s Esbriet is an approved…
With the holiday season upon us, the social gatherings have begun. An unofficial start to the holidays for me is attending my family Christmas dinner, which occurs on the last Saturday of November. Our extended family is too large to bring everyone together in December, so we…
Preclinical data show that treatment with Nuformix’s investigational candidates within the NXP002 program can prevent fibrosis progression with enhanced efficiency compared to the current standard of care, the company announced. The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at Newcastle University, U.K., revealed that the new therapeutic agents…
Over a month ago, one of our readers, Mardy Sitzer, shared a wonderful idea with me. She graciously permitted me to share it with you. Like many of us, Mardy has had IPF for quite a while and is on oxygen 24/7. Her IPF is advanced enough…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients experience a significant decline in quality of life and worse symptom burden during the last months of life, a real-world study shows. The Finland-based study, “Marked deterioration in the quality of life of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis during the last…
