There’s this girl in your class and she’s always coughing.  She has a box of tissues on her desk in case she coughs up some mucus.  It’s so annoying and gross, right?  Unfortunately for her, there’s not much she can do about it.  She may be suffering from something far more serious than an obnoxious phlegm-ridden cough.  It could be Cystic Fibrosis.

This is a disease you can’t catch.  It’s caused by an abnormal gene, so it has to be passed down to you from your parents.  People who have cystic fibrosis have all the same capabilities that you do, except their lungs and pancreas don’t function like yours.  Thick mucus lines both of these organs, making breathing and digestion difficult processes.  So that cough is really her body’s way of trying to clear up some of the mucus in her lungs.

The sad thing is there is no cure, not yet at least.  While doctors are working on creating one, and feel that one may be in sight for the near future, it isn’t here yet.  There are lots of treatment options available, though, to clear out the lungs, fight off infections, and help with digestion.  Sadly, infection is a common occurrence for people with cystic fibrosis, and this, along with the damage the lungs suffer, is the leading cause of death among those who are affected.

But with a positive attitude and medical supervision, more than half of the people who have cystic fibrosis are living to be in their 30s, and some are living well into their 40s.  Medical advancements are making it possible to live longer, healthier lives with this illness.