While the focus is often on taking care of one’s physical well-being, the challenges of living with a chronic disease can take a tool on people’s emotional health. But it is important to know that you as a patient is not alone and that a variety of resources are available to help patient maintain a positive mindset.  In this episode of “Spotlight of Pulmonary Fibrosis”, we hear from Eszter Rozan a patient from Hungary and Dr. Bardia Monshi , a clinical psychiatrist from Austria. Listen to their discussion about the importance of finding the right support team and the role of psychological support in helping patients to deal with changes in their daily life and feelings of uncertainty. 

There are various actions patients with pulmonary fibrosis can take to manage their symptoms and help them live their life to the fullest. While pharmacological treatments are an important tool there are many things that patients can do to manage their health. In this episode of Spotlight on Pulmonary Fibrosis, we are joined by pulmonologist Dr. Ralf Harun Zwick from Austria, and Matea Perkovic, a patient advocate from Croatia. Listen as they discuss why it’s important to develop a holistic treatment plan that suits the need of the individual patient. They also talk about the role of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes in helping patients to manage their condition and improve their quality of life. 

Receiving a diagnosis is a key step on the patient journey, but what happens next? Based on the patient characteristics the physician will prescribe a pharmacological treatment, but it can be challenging to understand how it works and how it together with the disease itself might impact their lives. In this episode of “Spotlight of Pulmonary Fibrosis”, we hear from Gali Ruttner an IPF patient from Israel, and Prof. Yochai Adir a pulmonologist from Israel and the chair of the Israel society of pulmonology. They will talk about common questions that patients have about their treatments and what physicians should communicate to the patients to provide them with correct information and support throughout the different stages of the disease.