At The Bedside: For Jesus Mata, living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is not the end, but the beginning

Since he could remember, Jesus Mata has always had a cough he could not seem to kick. He had no idea that his simple cough was a sign of a serious and life-altering illness. 

In 2020, Mata felt pain in his right side and was rushed to the emergency room to have his appendix removed. After his appendectomy, doctors informed him they had found cancer, and he was forced to go back into surgery. The team removed a portion of his intestine, and he was cancer free, but doctors brought another worry to his attention.

“When they were inside, they noticed I had some scar tissue on my lungs,” Mata said. “It was hard to hear because I just beat cancer, and now they are telling me I have to beat something else?”

Mata was referred to Rodeo Abrencillo, MD, associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Abrencillo diagnosed Mata with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the worst form of pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a disease that causes scarring of the lungs, making it difficult to breathe due to stiffness of the lung tissue. It is the most common type of lung scarring of unknown cause. This type of lung damage is irreversible and currently incurable, except for a lung transplant. 

“Mr. Mata was not a candidate for a lung transplant because he was diagnosed with cancer recently,” Abrencillo said. “Usually, patients have to be cured of cancer for five years before they are considered for transplant.”

Mata’s only option was to take medication to curb the progression of the disease. These medications are antifibrotic agents used to slow the progression of scarring, but they cannot halt or reverse lung damage that has already occurred.

“More than 25 percent of our patients with IPF exhibit signs of anxiety and depression following diagnosis. It is hard to hear, so we really try to help them lean on the support of their families and offer them the best resources we have,” Abrencillo said.

In Mata’s case, he did not view his diagnosis negatively. He saw it as a chance to really live and hopes to inspire others along the way.

“When you get diagnosed with a terminal illness, you finally stop to smell the roses,” Mata said. “I just told myself, you know what, I’m just going to enjoy every day, be happy and treat everybody happy. I don’t get mad when the stop light turns red, I’m in no hurry to get anywhere, I’m just happy to be here.”

The current medications offer a good quality of life for patients while managing the symptoms, but Abrencillo and Mata are hopeful for a long-term treatment option or cure for pulmonary fibrosis.

“The pulmonary fibrosis community is very vigorous and investing a lot in research,” Abrencillo said. “We are hopeful that in the future, there are more than just two drugs to treat this disease that may either completely halt the progression of scarring or reverse it completely.”

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