Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is Australia's most common life-threatening recessive genetic condition occurring in one in every 2,500 births. However, many people have either never heard of it or do not know what it really is. CF is just as deadly as heart disease or cancer and has a devastating impact on the young people it affects. Parents have to cope with the knowledge that their child is likely to die before them as well as with the expense and difficulty of dealing with a child with a chronic illness. There is no cure for CF.
With CF there are no outward signs of the condition but normal mucus changes to a thick sticky substance which affects organs such as the lungs, blocking tiny air passages, and the pancreas which secretes enzymes necessary for digestion.
Cystic Fibrosis NSW (CFNSW) provides a range of support and information services to assist people living with CF and their families and helps fund vital research through the Australian Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust. The organisation receives very little Government funding and relies on the generosity of individual donors, corporate sponsors, service clubs and money raised through special events to continue this vital work.