CPF proclaims September as 'Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month'

Patient organization to rally patients, families, advocates to raise awareness and funding for deadly lung disease

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today the month of September 2012 will be proclaimed "Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month." In previous years, the CPF has celebrated "National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week" for one week each September, but expanding the time frame to a month will help achieve greater national awareness and fundraising in the race to find treatment and a cure.   Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) is a deadly lung disease that affects at least 128,000 Americans and has no FDA approved treatment and no cure.  As many people lose their lives each year to PF as to breast cancer – 40,000.

"It is our goal to expand our reach to communities and cities nationwide by having a grassroots awareness and fundraising effort that will happen the entire month of September," said CPF Chief Executive Officer Mishka Michon.   "It is critical that attention is driven to this devastating disease if we are to find answers for our patients." 

National PF Awareness Month will include fundraising and awareness building efforts around the country organized by patients, families and partners, as well as a week on Capitol Hill during which advocates will meet with Members of Congress and their staffs.  Those meetings focus on the dire need for increased Congressional attention to the disease via their support of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 2505, S. 1350) a bill that currently has 66 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and 13 in the U.S. Senate.

September 23-29 will be PF Week at the American Thoracic Society (ATS), a partner of the CPF.  The CPF will participate with the ATS to hold a webinar on PF for patients, families and caregivers as well as professionals and will provide content for a webpage on the ATS website on the subject.