Imagine drowning, the lungs filling with water which swallows the air and suffocates those caught in it. Now imagine yourself drowning in a hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and family members who can only stand there and watch the inevitable. This is the fate of a person with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a disease that causes a person to drown in the mucus that fills their lungs while wreaking havoc on the body. This chronic disease causes devastating health problems, is incurable and requires patients to undergo painful temporary treatments. Taking daily medications, maintaining a social life, and staying healthy are a constant struggle for people with cystic fibrosis. Unlike many diseases that strike people today, cystic fibrosis is passed down to each patient from their parents. Cystic fibrosis is a disease present at birth and transmitted to patients through a defect in their parents' genes (Lewis 1). A patient must get one copy of the cystic fibrosis gene from each parent to be born with cystic fibrosis (“Cystic,” umm.edu 1). In the United States, cystic fibrosis is the deadliest and most common inherited disease among white Americans, with millions of Americans unaware they even carry the defective gene (“Cystic,” umm.edu 1 “Cystic,” Hereditary 45). one in twenty-nine Americans with more than thirty thousand known carriers among children and adults ("Cystic", umm.edu 1; "About" 1 Although cystic fibrosis is very common, many do not know they are carriers, this can happen). be easily resolved by a simple medical examination. Diagnosing cystic fibrosis is extremely simple and easy. A simple test is important since a large number of cases are diagnosed: "Approximately [a thousand] new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year" ("Approx. ..... middle of paper ...... ou medicines Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, inherited disease that, although easy to diagnose, comes with many terrible symptoms and social problems that make living with cystic fibrosis a constant struggle, even though every breath is painful. people with cystic fibrosis are still fighting for every breath they take. Works Cited “About Cystic Fibrosis” Cff.org. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, nd 1-2 Internet. Hereditary Diseases. New York: Franklin Watts, 1987. “Cystic Fibrosis.” University of Maryland Medical Center. Web. December 12, 2013. Lewis, Rick. “Cystic Fibrosis.” FDA Consumer 27.5 (1993): 22. Academic Research Premier.Web. November 18, 2013.Silverstein, Alvin, Virginia Silverstein and Robert Silverstein. Cystic fibrosis. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994. Print.