Country music fans know Joe Nichols for his chart-topping hits like “Freaks Like Me,” “Brokenheartsville” and “Sunny and 75.”
But things weren’t always sunny for Nichols. Right as his career was taking off, he lost his father Michael to a rare and fatal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF.
“He was 46 years old, a very young man, and it left us with a lot of questions, left us with a lingering desire to know more about the disease because we’d never heard of it before he passed away,” Nichols said.
IPF is a scarring disease of the lungs. According to nationally-renowned pulmonologist Dr. Marilyn Glassberg, the symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, chest discomfort, and “a lot of times, they’re misdiagnosed.”
Because IPF can be hard to diagnose, the campaign and website “BreathlessIPF.com“ has been launched. It features videos and other in-depth information on IPF. Nichols is an ambassador for the campaign.
To learn more about it, check out our story below, airing statewide this week on California Life!
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