The lung disease cystic fibrosis used to be a death sentence for a child. Today, the average life span is 44 years old. For people like Kate Dankanich, living with the disease means frequent doctors visits, lots of medication, and home therapy. Dankanich is 17. She lives in Colorado Springs. She explains that one therapy involves putting on a respiratory vest, for an hour in the morning and again at night. Now, a new drug therapy, which some doctors call "revolutionary," has been approved. It gets to the genetic root of Cystic Fibrosis. Dankanich will be starting it in a few weeks. Dr. Edith Zemanick is a pediatric pulmonologist at Children's Hospital Colorado. She's also Kate Dankanich's doctor, and took part in the nationwide research that led to this new breakthrough therapy. Dr. Zamanick joined us on Colorado Matters to talk about its potential.
