Together in Tribute: Why we remember and honour
As the year comes to a close, we are reminded that this season is as much about reflection as it is about celebration. CPFF is proud to launch the Hope Breathes Here Community Tribute Campaign, a space created to honour the strength, courage, and resilience of everyone touched by pulmonary fibrosis.
Why your tributes matter
Every tribute shared—every photo, memory, and message—keeps the spirit of our community alive. These heartfelt reflections help grieving families feel less alone and remind those still navigating PF that they are surrounded by compassion and connection. They also shine a light on the real faces and human stories behind PF, strengthening our collective resolve to advance awareness, support, and hope.
But remembrance and honouring also fuel our mission.
When you make a gift in honour or in memory of someone you love, you help CPFF provide the essential programs, advocacy, and resources our community depends on. Your tribute becomes more than a memory—it becomes a lifeline for another family just beginning their PF journey.
How you can participate
There are many meaningful ways to take part in this year’s tribute campaign:
- Share a tribute: Post a short message or photo to our tribute wall to honour someone touched by pulmonary fibrosis.
- Send a tribute e-card: Send an e-card to someone you care about when you make a donation to brighten someone’s day.
- Read and reflect: Visit our Tribute Wall to witness the love, courage, and strength shared by families across Canada.
- Give in honour, memory or gratitude: Your gift supports vital research, patient support, advocacy, and community awareness.
Together, we remember and honour
- Every story shared reminds us why this work matters.
- Every donation strengthens our ability to support those living with PF and the families who love them.
- Every tribute honours a life that continues to inspire hope.
Thank you for remembering and honouring with us; and for helping ensure that no one in our community walks this path alone.
Events
Happening Soon
Dec
08
7 PM to 8 PM EST
Caregiver Support Group
Dec
16
3 PM to 4 PM EST
National Patient Support Group
Dec
22
7 PM to 8 PM EST
Caregiver Support Group
Note: There is no newsletter in January. Check our events page online for January events.
CPFF Fellow delves into complex issues related to PF care
As Dr. Na’ama Avitzur heads into the home stretch of her two-year CPFF Robert Davidson fellowship at UBC and the ILD program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, she is exploring some important research questions.
How does a specialist decide which drugs to use to treat different patients? Does anxiety or depression have an impact on patients continuing drug treatment? Do these patients experience more symptoms?
A literature review of treatable traits in PF
One such study Treatable traits in pulmonary fibrosis: towards precision medicine was submitted for publication in May 2025 and is now being reviewed. A literature review of more than 100 published papers, this paper looks at specific traits or characteristics that can guide treatments, such as blood tests, imaging, and pathology, as well as new technologies like genetic markers. It looks at the current findings on who will respond better to different drug treatments. Dr. Avitzur is the lead author of the study involving six other contributors.
“This work should benefit patients by increasing the knowledge of all respirologists,” says Dr. Avitzur, “helping them treat ILD with more confidence. It provides clinicians with specific recommendations based on expert opinions.”
Primary project: Expert treatment patterns in patients with fibrotic ILD
The literature review ties into Dr. Avitzur’s primary research project Expert treatment patterns in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease, which is well underway. This study examines what patient features influence treatment decisions by expert ILD physicians, using previously collected patient information from the CARE-PF (Canadian Registry for Pulmonary Fibrosis).
Deadline for CPFF fellowship applications is next month
ILD researchers and clinicians take note: The deadline for CPFF’s Robert Davidson one, and two-year fellowships is January 31, 2026. All the information you need to apply can be found here. Applicants will receive a decision on, or before, March 31, 2026.
Patient and Caregiver Stories
Exercise, medication and oxygen, improve Pat’s quality of life
In the summer of 2024, Pat Marshall, now 82, was hit with a triple whammy of chronic disease diagnoses: rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis and then diabetes. It was quite overwhelming for the previously healthy and active woman.
For some time she’d been having trouble lifting things over her head. “My golf swing had really gone downhill, and I was having trouble doing things like putting dishes into the upper cupboards,” says Pat. “I was also having trouble keeping up with my mall-walking group, getting out of breath, so I stopped going.”
The diagnoses pile up
Her rheumatologist diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and started Pat on the steroid prednisone and methotrexate. She also sent her for a six-minute walk test. That’s when the spiral continued, according to Pat.
During her walk test, her oxygen level plummeted to 80 per cent after the first minute. She was sent immediately to the Emergency Department for oxygen and admitted for further testing during a four-day hospital stay.
Heidi Schollenberg is a pastor’s wife, a mother, grandmother, an oncology nurse, still working, and now her husband Brad’s caregiver.
Brad was diagnosed in February 2022 with moderate disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The year their lives changed forever.
With honesty and candour, Heidi shares their journey through a life changing pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis, medications, support groups, preparing for lung transplantation, and finding joy wherever they can.
CPFF founder Robert left a monumental legacy of awareness, information, and hope for the pulmonary fibrosis (PF) community in Canada and around the world. He established the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation in 2009.
Robert rallied people living with PF, their loved ones, and medical professionals, and was a champion of hope. In this video, Heather and Mark Davidson describe Robert’s PF journey from the perspective of his wife and son and encourage us all to help raise hope, awareness, and funds for this debilitating disease.
Two new videos discuss lung transplant and generic drugs
If you missed the live broadcasts of these two webinars last month, you can watch the videos anytime, any where.
Lung transplant in 2025: a review for patients with PF
In this informative video, Dr. Ciaran Scallan, respirologist and lung transplant specialist with the University of Toronto Lung Transplant Program, shares an in-depth look at the lung transplant journey for people living with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) — from referral and eligibility to life after transplant. He’s joined by Mark Ashcroft, a PF patient and double lung transplant recipient, who shares his personal story of recovery, challenges, and renewed hope.
Understanding generic drugs: Safe, effective and affordable
In this timely video, pharmacist Mayno Huynh helps patients and families understand how generic drugs are developed, tested, and approved. Learn what makes them a safe, effective, and affordable option for many conditions. He also addresses common questions about cost, side effects and access.
Featured Videos
A voice in the wilderness: CPFF support groups
The connection between connective tissue disease and PF
Managing stress and coping with loss and change