Cystic Fibrosis or Systic Fibrosis?

Many people mistakenly think that cystic fibrosis is spelled "systic fibrosis." If you, a family member or a friend has just been diagnosed with this genetic disease, you probably want to find out all the information you can about it. It can be very confusing when you are trying to find information with the spelling of "systic fibrosis." It may or may not help to remember that cystic fibrosis is commonly referred to as CF for short. However, CF is often mistaken for many other diseases because of confusion with abbreviations such as Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

The spelling of cystic fibrosis is not the only confusing aspect of CF. Below are a few examples of misconceptions that many people still believe about this disease.

Belief: Cystic fibrosis is contagious.
Truth: CF is not contagious. It is a hereditary disease.

Belief: Only Caucasians have CF.
Truth: Although the number of CF cases is higher in the Caucasian population, members of any race can be diagnosed with this disease. The number of cases being reported in other races is slowly rising each year.

Belief: Only babies and young children have CF.
Truth: This use to be true, but thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, people are living longer with CF. In the 1950s, life expectancy of a CF child was 5 years. In the 1970s, CF patients were expected to live less than 20 years. By the 1990s, life expectancy was 30 years. Now, there are actually senior citizens with CF! (Most people are diagnosed before age 2, but it's possible to be diagnosed later in life.)

Belief: Cystic fibrosis is not very common.
Truth: CF is the most common fatal genetic disease today. Over 30,000 people have CF in the United States, and that number is growing each year, with one out of every 2,000 babies diagnosed with this disease.

Belief: CF patients cannot have children.
Truth: Most CF patients are sterile, but there is a small percentage that is not sterile. Five percent of male CF sufferers and 20 percent of female CF patients can have babies.

Belief: If you have CF, your child will have CF.
Truth: Your child can be born with CF, only if both parents have CF or if both parents are carriers of the CF gene. If two CF carriers have a child, there is only a 1 in 4 chance that the child will have CF.

Belief: You can outgrow CF.
Truth: You cannot outgrow CF. It is a permanent disease.

Belief: There is a cure for cystic fibrosis.
Truth: There is no cure for CF. However, there are treatments that can help the patient live a longer, more normal life.