Support for caregivers

- They found masses in my liver, abdomen, pelvis and lung. And the doctor was like, I'm so sorry. Like I can't help you. You have stage four lung cancer.

- Everything I need to do everything I love, has now just been turned upside down. And I can just remember this overwhelming feeling of, I will never feel okay again. And I have to accept that. This was like running into a brick wall at 100 miles an hour.

- It was a struggle every day I had to, will myself out of bed.

- I was diagnosed with CF at 12. I guess the first thing, they always talk about when they diagnosed you with CF is your mortality. And, you know, based on statistics, you know, I'm 12. I wasn't gonna live to see my 18th birthday.

- Your attitude and your mentality will dictate, I believe will dictate who wins the battle. Being a 20 year old, I just said, great. There's medicine for this. And there is a way forward. That's how I kinda got myself in a positive mind frame.

- It's really important to think positively because mentally like you need to tell yourself, you know, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna take this drug and it's gonna sting for a little bit, but it's gonna be worth it.

- I had to get to a point where I embraced that I needed help. Now I gotta find a way to make this part of my life. Not something that's on the outside, trying to, trying to block me, trying to take me down. That's a huge emotional step, is to embrace.

- And I had to kind of remind myself that like, wow, all this progress that I've made in the last two years, it is because the medicine works.

- And as long as you think positively about it, even though the drug can be hard and you're sick of it and you wanna stop and you want it all to be over. As long as you're like, no, you know, it's okay, you're gonna do this and it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be strong. You're gonna be positive. You're gonna keep fighting because it's worth it. You're gonna do things that make you happy. And then will be living a normal life.

- Your life does not end by a doctor telling you you have this. Create goals for yourself in life and just go out and do them and achieve them and just live your life every day the best you can and hopefully impact somebody else while you're doing it and live in a positive way.

- There will be good days. There will be bad days. You have to embrace this. You can't run from it. You can't hide from it. You can't pretend it's not happening. And if you take care of it and you surround yourself with really good people from caretakers to medical people, if you can get all of that wrapped up into a nice little bow and say, that's my life and I'm okay with it, you'll survive.

- Take the treatment, educate yourself and be vigilant with your treatment. You're going to feel better. And when you do, don't take that for granted.