My dad is in the hospital with pulmonary fibrosis can you explain how serious this is?

he has been in for 2 weeks is in rebilhation part my stepmom says the worse part is over he is 75 years old can he get better? how do you get this ?he quit smoking 40 years ago

please tell me what causes this the doctors dont know why he is on oxygen therepy now

First, let me say how sorry I am to hear that your father has pulmonary fibrosis (PF). I speak from experience - I have PF and was diagnosed in 2003 and given about 18 months to live. As you can see, my doctors missed my departure date a little. Over the past 4 plus years of dealing with this disease, I have become well educated in the matter, and maybe I can clear a few things up for you.

First, and most importantly, little is known about the cause of PF. It may have genetic roots, but it usually starts with some kind of lung injury. This injury can be something like pneumonia, or breathing toxic fumes like the first responders to 9/11. When the lungs become irritated, the body's immune system kicks into overload and starts attacking the lung. Unfortunately, this inflammation leads to scarring and that is the problem with PF. Once a lung is scarred, the damage cannot be reversed. The scar tissue makes that portion of the lung useless and performs no function at all. I am sorry to say PF is a terminal illness. I am not saying your dad can't improve, but I am saying the damage that has been done cannot be reversed. There are some research projects looking at drugs that can slow down the process, but as another responder stated, his only chance is a lung transplant.

Pulmonary fibrosis kills over 50,000 people in the U.S. every year and the number of deaths is on the increase (Robert Goulet, the amazing singer just died from PF). Treatment is usually limited to steroids (prednisone) or Interferon. The idea is to reduce the inflammation and slow down the disease. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you neither of those did anything for me. Probably the best thing I did was relocate to the west coast of the US and a to a place with clean air and sea level for an elevation. I also use supplemental oxygen when I exercise and when I sleep. Pulmonary rehabilitation is another thing I can recommend to you. If your dad gets out of the hospital, the pulmonary rehab is really important in improving the quality of his life.

I am sorry to give you such bad news. Make no mistake, this is a terminal illness. He has hope through research and/or a lung transplant. The following are both incredible web sites for more information on PF:

http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/

http://www.coalitionforpf.org/

Again, I am so sorry to hear about your father. Don't give up hope, but be prepared for a heck of a struggle. This is a really lousy way to die. He is going to need all of the strength and support you can give him. Good luck to you all.

My sister had pulmonary fibrosis all her 31 years of life. She was misdiagnosed with having only asthma. But was found with having P.F. She never smoked but always got pnemonuia. She was on oxygen therapy but later was put on life-support. She died at the young age of 31 in need of a life-saving double-lung transplant. There is no cure for this disease only a lung transplant can save the life of those with pulmonary fibrosis.

you can put that in the search engine at www.webmd.com and it will tell you all about it..