“My sister has pulmonary fibrosis. Can she still have a good quality of life?”

It depends on the severity and cause of pulmonary fibrosis.There are certain forms of fibrotic lung disease which does not progress and with supplemental oxygen and pulmonary rehab there is no reason to not have a decent quality of life, then there are other forms of progressive disease process which can be stabilized with the right medication Would definitely recommend seeing a pulmonlogist who can look over your sisters specific condition and provide better counsel Hope that helps.

Hello, I'm glad that you reached out regarding your sister's diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis. The answer is yes, there are many options to limit complications and reduce further progression of fibrotic changes in this disease. However, each patient has a different risk of progression and also it depends on which stage of the disease you are in (early management vs late stage disease being more difficult to treat). Medications such as antifibrotics are shown to reduce the speed at which this disease affects the lungs, depending on the specific cause of the fibrosis. Additionally, programs such as pulmonary rehabilitation can offer symptomatic benefit and also reduce the risk of added breathing difficulties. Any pulmonologist should be able to point you in the right direction regarding what can be offered and I would recommend that your sister be proactive in starting these therapies sooner than later, with monitoring of function with serial pulmonary function tests so that any changes can be identified as soon as possible. I hope this answers your question.

Regards,

Dr. Maslonka