Hi: As it has been said before, CF effects different people in different ways even if they have the same mutations. Frankly, there is too little scientist, doctors, and patients know about CF to form definite opinions on why CF does this. Those of us with CF have to rely on what we know about ourselves. Of course, I can sit back, at age seventy eight, and give all kinds of words of wisdom, but I do know, fear is debilitating when dealing with a disease. If you worry about longevity, then that time is wasted. There is no warranty for longevity given with a birth certificate. Count each day as a blessing if you must count the days, but get on with your life and plan for the future. I use to tease my wife of fity three years, that she would have to clean out our closets due to my CF. She died last month from metastasized pancreatic cancer. She was the better person. Hal