I have been chasing down some places & doctors that are doing Stem Cell Therapy and there is a Dr. Kenneth Carle that has performed this procedure on his father and father-in-law fairly recently providing these people with improved health. He works through St. Joseph's Hospital in Towson, MD. This is a new treatment in the US and is not approved yet by FDA so there is no insurance coverage. The cost for this procedure from the 3 or 4 places I have found from FL, CA, and now MD runs from about $8K - $10K. Dr. Carle involves 2 to 3 months and at least 2 procedures. I'm definitely considering it as there doesn't seem to any big down side for my health, just a loss of $.

Good for you to do your research, Slwhetstone. Here is some preliminary reading:
Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-fibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353690
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/life-with-pf/about-pf

What websites does everyone use when searching for info about PF?

I read the articles. My mom has all those symptoms. I 'll share what i know about my mom's condition. She was released yesterday from the hospital with a servere bout of pneumonia. Her oxygen level could not be found whet i got her to the hospital. She's on oxygen 24/7. She cannot do without the oxygen. She is always panting like a dog been running hard. She has pain in her back. According to her, the doctor thinks that the oxygen is backing up in her lungs, not able to pass through freely. Her lungs are serverely scarred. When she was recently hospitalized, the doctor wanted her to be on a b-pap (i think that is the name) machine. I know mom has had pneumonia at least 3 times this year. She also has lupus and i think, congested heart failure???? She once told me that her throat walls are thin. I suppose that comes from the hacking cough she constantly has. She always cough up mucus. This has been going on for awhile (the hacking cough). As far as the stages of this disease, is there other systems to look for as the last one. I'm not a doctor nor do i try to be, my mom is 73, it seems as though she is going down rapidly. What can i do? Its so hard to sit by and feel helpless. I just want to know if there is some kind of miracle drug out there somewhere.

THEY FOUND THAT I HAD PF WHEN I WENT IN TO GET A CT OF MY LEG ON 28 DEC 2016. I WAS REALLY TAKEN BY SUPRISE I AM JUST ABOUT THE AGE OF YOUR MOM THEY ALSO FOUND SOME LUNG CANCER IN THERE.THE HARD PART IS YOU KNOW SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEAT LUNG CANCER BUT SO FAR I HAVE LEARNED THAT NO ONE HAS BEAT PF I AM SORRY THAT I CANNOT GIVE YOU MORE INFO BECAUSE I JUST DO NOT KNOW BUT I AM STILL SEARCHING AND I WILL TRY TO DO THE SAME. GOD BLESS YOUR MOTHER AND I PRAY THAT SHE GETS AT LEAST A LITTLE BETTER SHE IS VERY LUCKIE TO HAVE YOU BY HER SIDE THAT IS HELPING HER MORE THEN YOU WILL EVER KNOW FRANCKO