WASHINGTON – After meeting with pulmonary fibrosis patients and their families on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) saluted National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week and challenged Congress to help combat the relentlessly progressive and ultimately fatal respiratory disease that claims the lives of 40,000 Americans each year. Senator Coons is the lead sponsor of the Senate’s Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA).

“As the number of Americans who are infected with pulmonary fibrosis continues to rise, it’s more important than ever to focus our attention on finding a cure to this debilitating disease,” Senator Coons said. “The National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week does just that, encouraging Americans to contact their leaders in Congress and ask them to support the bipartisan, bicameral Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act. We still have a long road ahead of us in curing this horrific disease, but I’m encouraged that with committed activists in Delaware and across the country, shining a spotlight, we will increase the awareness, understanding, and research being done to find the root cause and a cure for pulmonary fibrosis.”

Pulmonary fibrosis affects the lungs and limits a person’s ability to breathe. There is no known cause, it has no cure, and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments.  Most patients with pulmonary fibrosis live only three to five years after being diagnosed.  In the United States alone:

  • More than 200,000 people are living with pulmonary fibrosis;
  • 48,000 individuals are diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis each year;
  • As many as 40,000 die each year.

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis is responsible for organizing the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week, which runs from September 18 to 24.

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act, which was introduced in July, is designed to enhance research, prevention, and awareness activities around the disease, creating a national registry, encouraging federal research at the National Institutes of Health, and creating a national action plan. U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), introduced the bill in the Senate. U.S. Representatives Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced the bill in the House.

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act is a crucial first step in combatting this debilitating disease.  You can find more information about the Senate bill here: http://bit.ly/oZU7b1

The Senate version of the bill can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/otAh9m. The House version of the bill can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/ovSqDa

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