If you are active on social media and have a chronic illness, you’ve probably come across the term “spoonie.” The word comes from a woman’s explanation of how she has to manage her energy levels each day. As she was in a cafe at the time, she grabbed a bunch of spoons…
Explaining Chronic Illness: An Alternative to the Spoon Theory
French researchers have identified 41 gene mutations in lung cancers associated with pulmonary fibrosis, a discovery that could lead to new therapy targets for both diseases. The findings applied to both non-idiopathic and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Non-idiopathic cases are those that doctors have found a cause for, while Idiopathic cases…
When I sit down to write these columns, I often reflect on something that has been difficult throughout my journey with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). I usually focus on something that has changed as a result of my disease — something I have lost, or something that…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can be a challenging disease for a care provider. To help provide support for IPF caregivers, Pulmonary Fibrosis MD has some useful resources. MORE: Pulmonary fibrosis caregivers encouraged to ‘take a breather’ 1. National Caregivers Library This site provides information…
Supplemental oxygen during exercise can improve pulmonary fibrosis patients’ breathing and workout capabilities, according to a report in the journal Respirology. A key feature of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is higher levels of damaging oxygen oxidants, or substances that oxidize other substances. These compounds trigger tissue scarring known as…
Former New York Yankees baseball player Bernie Williams joined the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) recently as they lobbied members of Congress to raise awareness about the impact idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has on patients and families. “My father passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and I’m eager to raise awareness of the…
In this video from Boehringer Ingelheim Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Professor Vincent Cottin and Professor Luca Richeldi discuss which biomarkers are reliable for the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and can predict the disease’s progression. MORE: Sputum analysis could be an alternative…
About a year ago I put on my “big girl panties” and began the fight to get my oxygen provider to supply me with liquid oxygen. Up to this point, I’d been using an oxygen concentrator at home, and a portable oxygen concentrator away from home. I…
This animated video from Demystifying Medicine explains the complication of pulmonary fibrosis in scleroderma patients. It begins by sharing that 80 percent of Asian scleroderma patients suffer from some form of pulmonary disease and that it’s the leading cause…
As summer settles on most of Southern Ontario, Canada, it brings with it our first heat wave. Normally, I love the heat. Even last year, after I received my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I didn’t mind the summer months. This year, with significantly reduced lung function,…
