Over the past decade, the concept of chronic illness has evolved into a more profound issue due to the increasing impact it has made on the world. A chronic disease is a long-term illness that can be maintained with proper treatment but can never be cured. Pulmonary Fibrosis is a debilitating chronic conditioned associated with 100 related lung diseases. It is a respiratory disease that causes the lung tissue to stiffen and scar, which prevents the body from getting enough oxygen. As a result, breathing becomes more difficult due to the lack of oxygen to the blood and the thickening of scar tissue on the lungs (Medline Plus, n.d.). Due to the aggressive and fast pace movement of Pulmonary Fibrosis, patients are given an estimated life span of two to five years to live (2012). Every year, about 40,000 people die from pulmonary fibrosis. The death rate is so high because the closest "cure" for patients with PF is a lung transplant; transplants can take up to three years before getting one and over half of the patients on the transplant list die before they can receive a transplant (FAQ, 2015). .
"Pulmonary Fibrosis isn't just one disease. It's a family of more than 200 different lung diseases that all look very alike". Pulmonary fibrosis is classified as an Interestial lung disease with two subgroups, idiopathic and Interestial. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive chronic condition with an unknown cause, which is characterized by difficulty breathing as well as declining lung function. Interestial Pulmonary Fibrosis resembles all the same characteristics as IPF but differs by having a known cause (About PF). According to Kate, an interviewee suffering from Interestial Pulmonary Fibrosis, the primary cause of her illness was from Cytoxan, a drug she received after chemotherapy (personal communication, 2015). The causes of pulmonary fibrosis can be divided into four main groups: Autoimmune diseases, genetics, medical exposure, and unknown causes.