"I'd never heard of IPF"

Eric SchaffaI feel very lucky to have been given access to this new drug, which is only because I was a patient at Royal Brompton. 

Eric Schaffa, 80, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, was diagnosed with idiopathyic pulmonary fibrosis in 2013.  

“I had no idea that anything was wrong with me until I went to my GP for a routine check-up in 2013,” explains Eric. I had a cough at the time and my GP was worried that it might be pneumonia so he sent me to Worthing Hospital for tests. 

“The hospital ruled out pneumonia but referred me to Royal Brompton for its specialist lung services. I was asked to stay in hospital for three days for the ‘work up’, where they carry out all sorts of tests to find out what’s wrong. On the first night the nurse woke me up and said she wasn’t happy about my breathing, so from then on I was put on oxygen at night. 

“At the end of the three days I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. I’d never heard of it, and I hadn’t noticed any symptoms, apart from getting a bit out of breath on the golf course sometimes.

“My consultant asked me lots of questions, such as whether I’d ever worked with birds, or whether I’d ever been exposed to asbestos. I told her that I used to work as a chef and had worked in lots of old kitchens in London’s west end, but whether there was asbestos in the buildings I didn’t know. Also, one of the restaurants where I worked had a bird cage with canaries and love birds, and I always used to feed them, but no one could say with certainty what caused the IPF.

“The doctor told me that IPF is incurable but that new drug treatments were available. In June 2015 I was given the opportunity to go on a new drug called nintedanib as a ‘named patient’. The drug was still going through clinical trials, but my consultant thought that I’d benefit from it. (The drug was approved by NICE in January 2016.) 

“I am now doing very well – I’m able to do some gardening, and I still play golf every three weeks (although I get around the course in a buggy!).

“I feel good, and people say I look well. I feel very lucky to have been given access to this new drug, which is only because I was a patient at Royal Brompton.”


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