"I try to reassure everyone who has been affected by this disease that CF isn't the end of the world if you don't want it to be."
The experience of living with cystic fibrosis is markedly different today than it was decades ago. Thanks to the discovery of the CF gene, the availability of effective drug therapies and advances in technology, the 30,000 Americans who deal with the disease day in and day out are living longer and fuller lives. In a word, they are thriving.
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Podcast 89: Jerry Cahill - It's Not About CF

Jerry Cahill, 54 years old with cystic fibrosis, lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. Jerry is exercising with oxygen to keep his lungs clear, coaching and volunteering at the Boomer Esiason Foundation as he awaits a double-lung transplant. Jerry attacks the day and is living, breathing and succeeding with CF.

  • Jerry was diagnosed at age 10, and the doctors told his parents he would not make it to his 16th birthday.
  • “Growing up with CF is challenging, but you just have to push through ... it’s a discipline,” Jerry says.
  • Jerry loves being outdoors all year and exercises with a small oxygen tank, which helps him breathe better while he awaits a double-lung transplant.
  • “I believe in a complete program of being compliant to medications, good nutrition, exercise and a fun social life,” he says.
  • “Going out on disability is tough, but you just have to RE-INVENT yourself."
  • Jerry believes in “attacking the day and focus on living! I look forward to tomorrow and the next day, next week, and next year ...”

This “LIVING. BREATHING. SUCCEEDING.” Podcast/Vodcast is the 11th in a series of 12 made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

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