Kevin McCrea, 18 years old with cystic fibrosis, lives in Washington and loves life. Kevin attends Washington State University, is involved in many sports and enjoys spending time with family and friends.  He believes in “shaking up the lungs and clearing them out” through vigorous sports.

• Kevin was diagnosed with CF at age two and grew up in a small town in the Northwest. Living in the country, Kevin enjoys swimming, hiking, fishing and riding dirt bikes.
• “In high school, I was actively involved in team sports, including track and field [four years], basketball [two years] and football [one year]. Sports was a social event and has made a major impact on my health,” Kevin says.
• Kevin’s training in basketball and track and field was two hours a day, six days a week, and the running and jumping made him cough and clear out his lungs.
• Kevin on being compliant: “I believe in staying compliant and doing all my treatments, including exercise, so I can stay healthy and live a long life."
• The biggest challenge Kevin faces with CF is time management of all the treatments.
• “CF is not a big deal to me ... I was born with it, live with it, and it will not stop me," he says.
• Kevin’s advice to other teens with CF: “Push forward an never give up – be active and go for it!”
• “Step it up! Get out there and live and do not alienate yourself."

This “LIVING. BREATHING. SUCCEEDING.” Podcast/Vodcast series is the 5th in a series of 12 made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Philip Stevanovic is 36 years old with cystic fibrosis and diabetes. He lives in New York, is married with twin boys, works full-time as a construction manager, and received a double lung transplant in August 2007 at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

• Philip was diagnosed at age two at the University of Minnesota.
• “Growing up with CF was pretty uneventful, except that I slept in a mist tent. I played soccer, tennis, football and lived in Africa, the Middle East and Yugoslavia,” Phil says.
• Philip was diagnosed with CFRD in 2006 via glucose tolerance test.  “I kept getting repeat infections because I had high blood sugar, and bacteria feeds on sugar."
• “I treat my CFRD with insulin shots before I eat, and that controls the sugar at meals. Blood sugars are controlled by food, medication and exercise."
• “Since I started insulin treatment for my CFRD, I have gained weight, which is something I could never do with CF,” Phil says.
• Philip sees an endocrinologist for his CFRD.
• “My role models are my mother and father – they are responsible for making me the person I am today, and I thank them for everything.”
• Philip’s recommendation to others with CFRD: “Enjoy life, be happy, stay focused and get an endocrinologist familiar with CF.”

This “LIVING. BREATHING. SUCCEEDING.” Podcast/Vodcast series is the 4th in a series of 12 made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.