I struggled emotionally after learning that after negative carrier and newborn screens, my son had cystic fibrosis. I’m now advocating for people with rare mutations.
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My son, who is Black, has cystic fibrosis. It seems like just a normal fact of life, but I have become frustrated with having to convince doctors that he really does have CF. I hope that one day people of color won’t have to have the same experience.
Since 2011, the Foundation has awarded $2.5 million across 35 different projects to improve cystic fibrosis newborn screening across the country.
I felt unrelenting hope watching the first plenary of this year’s North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference. As I learned about progress that has been made in sickle cell disease, and how those learnings may help us develop a genetic therapy for CF, it showed me that the CF community is supporting people like me who can’t take modulators.
Cystic fibrosis affects people of every racial and ethnic group. Of the nearly 40,000 people living with CF in the U.S., approximately 15% are identified as racially or ethnically diverse. Research shows that people of color with CF, particularly people who are Black and Hispanic, experience unique challenges and often have negative experiences that can lead to poorer outcomes. Some of these inequities are referenced in the following data.
The Foundation seeks to advance its mission by making improvements in key areas of health equity and outcomes and diverse workforce development.
mRNA therapy is one way to deliver the correct genetic instructions to cells, which would allow them to make functional CFTR protein regardless of an individual’s CF mutations.
The Foundation’s commitment to these principles will continue to be a cornerstone of the Foundation’s work to advance our mission in 2023.