My good friend died within one year of treatment for advanced BE and MAC at age 75. She was otherwise in good health. Her treatment plan was inadequate and delayed. She did not have a team who noticed her decline nor practiced by guidelines. I miss her every day and try to keep educated and compliant with treatment standards. It is necessary to advocate for yourself. I recently had a strong BE flare and sputum culture management omitted re ordering AFB after bronchoscopy, when doc knew I had a positive NTM from Quest 3 weeks prior. The opportunity to know if it is colonization, relapse after 2 yrs or re-infection was lost.