-- The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, in collaboration with Stanford University Medical Center and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, will host a free, live Virtual Patient Education Day via the Web for people with cystic fibrosis (CF), their parents, family members, and caregivers. The Web cast, entitled "GO FOR THE GOLD STANDARD OF CF CARE," will focus on detailed aspects of CF care and the components of standard care, including tests performed during routine center visits, the diagnosis of complications, and how patients can make a difference in their health. The Web cast format offers participants a unique opportunity to watch, learn and ask questions of CF experts that they might not normally have access to, beyond those at their local CF center.
 
Affecting approximately 30,000 people in the United States, CF is a life-threatening, genetic disease that causes the build-up of thick, sticky mucus in the lungs and pancreas leading to chronic lung infections and difficulty digesting food and absorbing nutrients. The current median age of survival for people with CF is in the early 30s. Medical advances have improved the understanding of CF and made new and better therapies available to patients.
 
The CF Foundation advises against close contact among people with CF due to the potential spread of infection-causing bacteria that can be very harmful to their lungs. The Internet offers people with CF a safe, alternative way of learning in a group setting while receiving information from qualified healthcare professionals. This Web cast is the fourth in the CF Foundation's series of Virtual Patient Education Days designed to disseminate timely information to patients and their families. The first three Web casts, "The Patient As a Partner In Research," "How to Avoid Germs in CF," and "CF Nutrition: News You Can Use" are archived on the CF Foundation's Web site at www.cff.org and can be accessed in the Living with CF section of the Web site.
 
Details for the upcoming Web cast are as follows:
 
When:
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
7:00 p.m. PDT
(10:00 p.m. EDT; 9:00 p.m. CDT and 8:00 p.m. MDT)

Who:

• Richard Moss, M.D., director, CF Care Center, professor of pediatrics, Stanford University and chief, Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• Kristin Shelton, R.R.T., CF respiratory therapy coordinator, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• Mary Helmers, R.N., B.S.N., adult CF coordinator, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• Noreen Henig, M.D., director, Adult CF Program, assistant professor medicine, Stanford University