After careful thought, I decided to add medically prescribed cannabis to my care regimen. After using it for six months, I've noticed an improvement in both my mental and physical health.
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Patrick Flume, MD, is a pulmonologist and the director of the adult cystic fibrosis center at the Medical University of South Carolina and part of my care team. For National Doctor's Day, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Flume and ask him some questions about CF, his approach to CF care, and how it's changed during his career.
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The expression, “It takes a village,” sometimes seems to apply to my clinic visits. I like having my family accompany me. They support me emotionally and help me keep track of important health information.
Everyone with cystic fibrosis faces the fear that their next infection could be the one that doesn't respond to treatments. Chronic infections eventually led to my sister's death. After seeing what she went through, it became clear to me that we have an immediate need for better anti-infectives.
As the mother of a child with cystic fibrosis, here's what I wish everyone in our hospital understood about my daughter and her CF care.
I didn't know whether to cry on my surgeon's shoulder or punch him. In the end, I did neither. I looked back at him, dug deep, and said over and over again, “No. I won't sign.”
As an individual with cystic fibrosis, I can give you all kinds of examples of how providers shouldn't treat their patients. However, it was my experience as a fictional patient that taught me how to be a better CF patient.
In January, I underwent successful phage therapy -- an experimental treatment in which viruses are used to kill difficult-to-treat bacteria. To get a better sense of the future of this potential treatment option for other people with CF, I chatted with the head of the Infection Research Initiative at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.