Lisa Reed and a quarter million other Americans have pulmonary fibrosis, a serious lung disease, ­but early treatment can make a big difference.

(NAPSI)—In 2022, Lisa Reed was eagerly anticipating her 70th birthday. She had plans to travel to Italy and was looking forward to spending more quality time with her grandchildren. But a persistent cough, worsened by a bout of COVID-19, led her to the emergency room in her hometown of Sante Fe. There, a series of tests, including a high-resolution chest CT of her lungs, revealed something unexpected: pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

Symptoms of PF, such as chronic dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath, can often be confused with other more common illnesses, making it difficult to diagnose. In Reed’s case, her chest CT showed the presence of white tissue on her lungs—a characteristic sign of scarring and inflammation.

Like many others diagnosed with PF, Reed had never heard of the disease. Her internet search was startling, revealing that PF causes progressive and irreversible scarring in the lungs. It is part of a family of over 200 interstitial lung diseases (ILD) that affect more than 250,000 Americans.

Fortunately, Reed was diagnosed in the early stages of the disease. She quickly immersed herself in learning everything she could about PF. She discovered the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s (PFF) website, absorbing fact sheets, watching webinars, and exploring clinical trials and opportunities to get involved.

A friend of Reed’s who is a nurse practitioner suggested she reach out to the ILD clinic at National Jewish Hospital in Denver, a PFF Care Center Network site. She now receives care there from a multidisciplinary team of doctors including a pulmonologist, rheumatologist, cardiologist, and oncologist. She began an antifibrotic treatment to slow the progression of the disease.

As Reed started her treatment, her family received more unexpected news—both of her brothers were also diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. The siblings believe their condition is familial, with each of them at different stages of the disease. One of her brothers has since undergone a double lung transplant and is doing well.

Reed firmly believes that self-advocacy is essential in getting the right care as quickly as possible. She has volunteered for clinical trials, participates in online support groups, and actively engages with the PFF. Throughout her journey, Reed has found the PFF to be a vital resource for trusted information and tremendous support.

“Whether it’s getting the right diagnosis, learning what treatments are available, or finding resources for caregivers, there are answers and support,” she said. “It’s impressive and wonderful.”

Now, Reed volunteers as a PFF Ambassador, sharing her story and helping others along their journeys. “The way to help myself is to help others,” she says.

Reed plans to attend a virtual PFF Education Symposium. She looks forward to learning about the latest research studies, how to live better with PF, and to connect with others navigating life with PF.

“Whether you’re newly diagnosed, or you’ve been living with PF for years, no one should face this journey alone,” said Reed. “There are so many ways we can help each other, both big and small. And there’s a whole community of people, resources, and support ready to help you through the PFF.”

The PFF Education Symposium is a virtual conference taking place Nov. 7-8. To learn more about PF and to register for the Symposium, visit pulmonaryfibrosis.org/symposium.

Rotary International says everyone should get the necessary vaccines, and anyone can support efforts to protect more people.

(NAPSI)—In the last 50 years alone, vaccines have saved 154 million lives—six people every minute for five decades. But measles, polio, and cholera outbreaks are on the rise despite being vaccine-preventable, and vaccines still urgently need funding. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and is often the first indicator of immunization gaps.

About Vaccines

Vaccines are one of the safest and most effective ways to protect people from certain life-threatening diseases.

Unfortunately, COVID interrupted life-saving vaccine campaigns, and now there’s a growing resurgence of vaccine-preventable infections, including polio and measles, around the world, including 13 outbreaks of measles cases in the United States.

Pointers on Polio

Consider that old scourge, polio. Efforts to eradicate it have been going on for decades. At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, it affected between 13,000 and 20,000 people in the United States every year, many of them children. Thousands died, and many others were permanently paralyzed. Then, in 1955 Jonas Salk and in 1961 Albert Sabin developed and deployed vaccines and the number of cases dropped.

In the years following, Rotary International (https://endpolio.org) a global humanitarian service organization with more than 1.2 members around the world, initiated the global fight to end polio. Since founding the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, Rotary and its partners have reduce polio cases by more than 99.9% percent worldwide. Partners include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Rotary International and its members have donated $2.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to help immunize 3 billion children and eliminate polio in 122 countries. As a result, in 2023, only seven cases of “wild poliovirus” (two in Pakistan, five in Afghanistan) were found. For the past 30 years, the World Health Organization’s Region of the Americas has been declared polio-free.

Rotary members are business, professional, and community leaders who share a commitment to making the world a better place. Rotary and its partners also use a new vaccine, nOPV2, to address variant polio virus outbreaks. Millions of doses have been administered. Rotary has advocated, distributed, and administered vaccines for 45 years.

More About Measles

Once, measles, too, looked like a success story. It was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, thanks to a very high percentage of people receiving the safe and effective measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

However, recent data show that U.S. MMR coverage among kindergartners is below the CDC’s 95% coverage target—much lower in some communities—and decreasing.

The CDC reports that measles is so contagious that if one person has it, The CDC reports, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not vaccinated. Common complications are ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications include pneumonia and encephalitis.

Meanwhile, global measles activity is increasing, meaning there are more chances of an unvaccinated person infected with measles abroad returning to the United States. That’s one reason it may be wise to talk to your healthcare provider about the MMR vaccine, especially if you plan to travel.

Concerning Cervical Cancer

Rotary is also involved in preventing this deadly disease—women diagnosed with cervical cancer are almost twice as likely to die of it than of breast cancer. Fortunately, cervical cancer is preventable and treatable.

The human papillomavirus, which is also called HPV and is responsible for more than 90% of cervical cancers, can linger in the body for a long time and eventually cause cancer. Getting vaccinated against HPV helps prevent most cases of cervical and many other cancers by giving the body a safe way to build immune system awareness of certain HPV strains.

To help, the Rotary Foundation has awarded more than $10.3 million in global grant funding for cervical cancer projects since 2014, and other Rotary projects have tackled this issue outside of global grant funding.

What You Can Do

You can be part of the effort to end polio in four ways:

1. Donate to the End Polio Now Campaign (https://endpolio.org).
2. Contact government leaders and encourage them to prioritize financial and political support for polio eradication and vaccination for other conditions.
3. Every year on October 24 participate in World Polio Day to raise awareness of the importance of polio vaccination and to celebrate the parents, professionals, and volunteers who make eradication possible.
4. Join Rotary. Since 1985, Rotary members have helped immunize up to 400 million children against polio a year. As a result, more than 20 million people who would otherwise have been paralyzed are walking, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died.

Learn More

For additional information visit: www.polioeradication.org and www.endpolio.org.

By taking an online survey you can help millions of people with liver disease­—maybe even yourself – get the treatment they need.

(NAPSI)—If you or a loved one are among the nearly 100 million Americans affected by liver disease, consider joining the American Liver Foundation Patient Registry. By sharing your story, you can help share the future of liver health. As a participant in the registry, you will join a group of individuals dedicated to changing the face of liver disease through the advancement of new science and treatments that will benefit all.

The American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is free to join and the first-ever patient registry for all types of liver diseases, including transplant. It helps provide researchers with a better understanding of liver diseases, the effect of current treatments, and how liver disease affects patients. Until now, there has not been one central place where researchers interested in liver disease can access information on a patient’s disease history and more importantly, how patients are managing their disease and its often-debilitating symptoms and associated conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.

With more than 100 different types of liver disease, it is imperative that researchers have access to this kind of information to help discover better treatments and cures.

Who Can Participate?

The American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is voluntary and open to any patient with liver disease, 18 years of age or older, in the U.S. If you decide to participate, the registry will gather data about your disease through an online survey.

How Does it Work?

Powered by EmpiraMed’s PRO Portal, the American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is designed to be easy to use. The Portal keeps track of where you are in the survey process and automatically saves your work as you go, so you never have to worry about losing information. After registering, you will be asked to complete an initial online survey about:

• Your history of liver disease(s)
• How you manage/treat your disease and symptoms
• Other medical conditions relevant to your liver disease
• Lifestyle choices which may influence your liver health
• Additional information about you.

Get Started Today

To learn more and sign-up go to liverpatientregistry.org and start working towards a world free from liver disease.

Today is the day to protect your kids with HPV vaccination.

by Ruth Stefanos, M.D.

(NAPSI)—As a pediatrician, I hear many questions from parents. As their children grow from babies to adolescents, so does the number of questions they have about how to continue protecting their kids. This makes sense, since we are all navigating a changing world with social media, peer pressure, and more homework and scheduled activities. Parents are juggling these things every day, and the bottom line is that parents want to know how they can protect their kids.

One of the most important things we know to protect your kids – now and as they grow – is vaccination. While most parents are familiar with getting their babies vaccinated, they might not realize that there are vaccinations specifically for preteens that can protect them against serious diseases like cancer and meningitis.

HPV vaccination is given when kids are about 11–12 years old to protect them from ever getting the HPV virus that can cause cancers later in life. Both preteen boys and girls need this vaccine now, before they are ever exposed to the virus. Stopping that virus in its tracks can protect them from things like cervical cancer in women, and head and neck cancer in men.

While it can be hard for parents to look at their preteens and see the young adult they will become, vaccinating them now means not having to worry about HPV-related cancers as they grow up. We know that this virus is common—about 13 million people in the United States, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. Every year in the United States, HPV causes about 36,000 cases of cancer in both men and women. This is why I strongly recommend that parents vaccinate their kids. I also know that the HPV vaccine has a reassuring safety record that’s backed by over 15 years of monitoring and research. What’s amazing is that we are really starting to see the impact of this vaccine. HPV infections and cervical precancers have dropped substantially since 2006, when HPV vaccines were first used in the United States.

I feel very confident telling parents that today is the day to get their kids protected with HPV vaccination. It’s a good reminder that while you can’t stop kids from growing up, you can protect them against cancer later. Back to school healthcare visits are a great time to take this step to protect them. Please call to schedule your kids’ appointment today. You can learn more at www.cdc.gov/HPV.

Dr. Stefanos is a medical officer in the Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Preven­tion (CDC).

Don’t take your eyes for granted. Take these easy steps to keep your peepers healthy.

1. Eat Well

Good eye health starts with the food on your plate. Nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E might help ward off age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts. To get them, fill your plate with: Green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collards, salmon, tuna, and other oily fish, eggs, nuts, beans, and other nonmeat protein sources, oranges and other citrus fruits or juices, oysters and pork. A well-balanced diet also helps you stay at a healthy weight. That lowers your odds of obesity and related diseases like type 2 diabetes, which is the leading cause of blindness in adults.

2. Quit Smoking

It makes you more likely to get cataracts, damage to your optic nerve, and macular degeneration, among many other medical problems. If you’ve tried to kick the habit before only to start again, keep at it. The more times you try to quit, the more likely you are to succeed. Ask your doctor for help.

3. Wear Sunglasses

The right pair of shades will help protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Too much UV exposure boosts your chances of cataracts and macular degeneration. Choose a pair that blocks 99% to 100% of UVA and UVB rays. Wraparound lenses help protect your eyes from the side. Polarized lenses reduce glare while you drive, but don’t necessarily offer added protection. If you wear contact lenses, some offer UV protection. It’s still a good idea to wear sunglasses for an extra layer.

4. Look Away From the Computer Screen

Staring at a computer or phone screen for too long can cause: eye strain, blurry vision, trouble focusing at a distance, dry eyes, headaches, neck, back, and shoulder pain,

Make sure your glasses or contacts prescription is up to date and good for looking at a computer screen.

If your eye strain won’t go away, talk to your doctor about computer glasses.

Move the screen so your eyes are level with the top of the monitor. That lets you look slightly down at the screen.

Try to avoid glare from windows and lights. Use an anti-glare screen if needed.

Choose a comfortable, supportive chair. Position it so that your feet are flat on the floor.

If your eyes are dry, blink more or try using artificial tears.

Rest your eyes every 20 minutes. Look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Get up at least every two hours and take a 15-minute break.

5. Visit Your Eye Doctor Regularly

Everyone needs a regular eye exam, even young children. It helps protect your sight and lets you see your best.

Eye exams can also find diseases, like glaucoma, that have no symptoms. It’s important to spot them early on, when they’re easier to treat.

Depending on your eye health needs, you can see one of two types of doctors:

Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialize in eye care. They can provide general eye care, treat eye diseases, and perform eye surgery.

Optometrists have had 4 years of specialized training after college. They provide general eye care and can diagnose and treat most eye diseases. They don’t do eye surgery.

A comprehensive eye exam might include:

• Talking about your personal and family medical history
• Vision tests to see if you’re nearsighted, farsighted, have an astigmatism (a curved cornea that blurs vision), or presbyopia (age-related vision changes)
• Tests to see how well your eyes work together
• Eye pressure and optic nerve tests to check for glaucoma
• External and microscopic examination of your eyes before and after dilation