Boston PF Support Group

Due to the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, as of March 16, 2020, and until further notice, all support group meetings will be held online only. Please go our VIRTUAL MEETINGS page to join the meetings.

The Boston Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group provides patients and caregivers living with pulmonary fibrosis of any kind a place to learn about how to live with this disease, and to teach others what has worked for them. Each month we have a speaker on a topic relevant to pulmonary fibrosis, with our goal being to provide information about important medical issues, as well as issues shaping patients’ quality of life. The remainder of the meeting is a time to connect with, and ask questions of, others living with this disease.

As of April 2018, our group will meet on the first Thursday of every month from 1:00pm to 2:30pm.

The regular monthly meetings take place in the Conference Room Cox 201, on the 2nd floor of the "Cox Building" of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Entrance: Parkman Street
Parking Garages: Fruit Street or Prakman Street Garages
Nearest Valet Parking: Wang Center

Our social meetings take place on the first Saturday of the months of April, July, and November from 10am to 12pm, and are located in Conference Room 1 on 3rd floor of the Brighton-Marine Medical Building, at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center.

Oxygen is available on site. And free parking at MGH garages is available for the duration of the meetings (and up to four hours).

SCHEDULE

3/5/2020 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Genetics of Familial ILD
Katharine Black, MD

2/6/2020 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Introduction to Lung Transplant
Yuval Raz, MD

1/2/2020 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

12/5/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Year in Review
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

10/3/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Familial Pulmonary Fibrosis
Katharine Black, MD

9/5/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Goal Setting and Topic Selections

8/1/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Update on Experimental Therapies
Katharine Black, MD

6/6/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Health Benefits of Tai Chi
Regina Gibbons

5/2/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Oxygen! Do I need it? Should I use it?
Karla Schlichtmann, RRT

4/7/2019 10:00am – 12:00pm
Patient-Caregiver Support Group Breakfast Social
Airway Clearance with Interstitial Lung Disease
Jess Garton, PT, Jess Wilson, PT

3/7/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Eating with Lung Disease
Jess Witchey, RD, LDN, CNSC

2/7/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Discussion of IPF Comorbidities
Katharine Black, MD, Aliaa Barakat, PhD

1/3/2019 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

12/6/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members: Rap Up of 2018 and Outlook at 2019
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

11/3/2018 10:001m – 12:00pm
Patient-Caregiver Support Group Breakfast Social

10/4/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Review of Research on Fasting
Aliaa Barakat, PhD

9/6/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
ILD Collaborative: Opportunites for Patient & Caregiver Engagement
Aliaa Barakat, PhD

8/2/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Discussion of Patient/Caregiver Eduction Program: IPF - Take Control with Knowledge
Katharine Black, MD

6/8/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Updates from the 2018 Meeting of the American Thoracic Society
Katharine Black, MD

5/3/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Staying Active While Using Oxygen
Karla Schlichtmann, RRT

4/5/2018 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members: Daily Life with Pulmonary Fibrosis
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

3/1/2018 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Pulmonary Rehabilitation for ILD
Jesscia Garton, PT

2/1/2018 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Nutrition Concerns and Guidance
Jessica Witchey, RD, LDN

1/4/2018 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

12/7/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
New Discoveries and Advocacy:
Update from the PFF Summit
Katharine Black, MD

10/5/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Update on Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Trials
Katharine Black, MD

9/7/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Group Discussion
Patient and Caregiver Panel

8/3/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Non-Medical Challenges
Patient and Caregiver Panel

6/1/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Living with IPF: Family and Community
Caregiver Panel

5/4/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Newly Diagnosed: The Patient Experience
Patient Panel

4/6/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Oxygen at Home and Away
Nancy Davis, RT

3/2/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Pulmonary Rehabilitation for ILD
Jessica Garton, PT

2/2/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members
Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

1/5/2017 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Insurance and Financial Issues
Kristy Farrell-Sampson, Transplant Financial Coordinator

12/1/2016 11:00am – 12:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

11/3/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Benefits/Science of Exercise
Katharine Black, MD

10/6/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Relaxation and Stress Reduction
Sara Fisher, RN

9/1/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Care of Caregivers
Anne Lafleur, LICSW

8/4/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Palliative Care
April Zehm, MD, and Juliet Jacobsen, MD

7/7/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Open Conversation with Suppport Group Members
Aliaa Barakat, PhD, Katharine Black, MD, Anne Lafleur, LICSW

6/2/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
New Directions for IPF Treatments: Updates on Clinical Trials
Sydney Montesi, MD

5/5/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Pulmonary Function Testing
Katharine Black, MD

4/7/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Other Exercise
Jessica Garton, PT

3/3/2016 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Oxygen at Home and Away
Nancy Davis, RT; Tom Brown

1/26/2016 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Insurance and Financial Issues
Kristy Farrell-Sampson, Transplant Financial Coordinator

12/22/2015 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Introduction to Medications for Pulmonay Fibrosis
Robert Hallowell, MD

11/23/2015 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Nutrition Concerns and Guidance
Jessica Witchey, RD, LDN

10/27/2015 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Medical Complications of Pulmonary Fibrosis
Katharine Black, MD