Show to Air Tuesday, June 15th
The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today one of the first major national media coverage opportunities for the CPF and Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF). NBC's TODAY Show will focus on the disease in an interview with California patient Bob O'Rourke, who suffers from the disease and will die from it unless he receives a lung transplant in time. The show will air tomorrow, June 15th, on NBC. Please check local listings for the time of the TODAY Show in your area.
O'Rourke is embarking on a national media campaign along with the CPF to bring attention to the disease during his desperate fight for survival. O'Rourke, who has been the vice president of public relations for California Institute of Technology for more than 20 years, is accustomed to being behind the scenes helping promote other people's stories. Now, he is stepping out in front as one patient among thousands who are suffering from PF, an untreatable, terminal lung disease that causes irreversible scarring in the lungs.
"The determination and focus Bob has for this is utterly amazing," said Mishka Michon, Chief Executive Officer of the CPF. "He clearly is a man on a mission and is dedicated to making a difference in this disease as long as he possibly can."
As O'Rourke urgently talks with friends and contacts in the media business including NBC's Tom Brokaw, he is working to build a national awareness campaign that is the most important of his entire public relations career.