Bold Enough to Ask Podcast
Conversations on Sexual & Reproductive Health for People with Cystic FibrosisBold Enough to Ask: A BreatheStrong CF podcast
This podcast series focuses on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) for people with cystic fibrosis. Members of the CF community serve as hosts and panelists who discuss SRH concerns and share their personal stories, and expert content is provided by specialized providers, researchers, or social workers.
We know SRH can feel like an embarrassing conversation. This peer format reduces the embarrassment often associated with discussing SRH topics and empowers listeners to have these conversations with their healthcare providers or partners.
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Bold Enough to Ask Episodes
Bold Enough to Ask is focused on sexual and reproductive issues and concerns in the cystic fibrosis community. Some topics are better suited for a mature audience. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider with questions about your health.
Episode 6: CF Spouses Have Something to Say
In this episode, we turn the mic toward the partners who walk alongside people with CF: the joys of building a life and family together, and the less-visible weight that chronic illness can place on a marriage.
Research shows that CF spouses and romantic partners often carry a significant emotional load, including elevated anxiety, depression, and social isolation that can deepen as lung function declines. Many partners put their own needs on hold, manage anticipatory grief, and absorb financial pressures tied to their spouse’s health — all while support systems built specifically for them remain few and far between.
We’re joined by three women navigating this reality in their own ways: Jennifer Johnson, whose husband Drue is 16 years post-transplant; Megan Barker, founder of Project CF Spouse, a nonprofit supporting partners of people with CF; and Rebecca Jernigan, raising a two-year-old with her husband of ten years, Cody. Together, they open up about job lock, the decision to start a family, and what it really means to love someone with CF for the long haul.
Episode 5: The Head and the Heart – CF, Relationships & Mental Health
Our relationships don’t exist in a vacuum — and for men with cystic fibrosis, mental health is often the missing piece of the conversation. This episode, we sit down with Pete Proimos of the Filotimo Foundation and Tyler Byrd, LIMHP, to talk candidly about how mental health shapes everything from day-to-day wellbeing to parenting and connection.
We dig into how modulator therapies have shifted the landscape for people with CF, what the road to parenthood looks like, and why emotional health deserves just as much attention as physical health.
Episode 4: Uncomfortable Conversations on Sexual Function
Men with CF desire comprehensive SRH discussions initiated by their CF team beginning in early adolescence, but many report that SRH conversations with their care teams are brief and not comprehensive. This not only leaves a gap in knowledge, but also has mental health ramifications. This episode is an opportunity to unearth men’s questions on SRH and hold candid conversations about their experiences around sexual function.
Episode 3: Beyond 50 – CF Men Talk Sexual Health and Aging
As more people with CF live past the age of 50, new challenges arise. Comorbidities such as osteoporosis, colorectal cancer, hypertension, and arthritis generally emerge as a person approaches 60 years old. With Host Chad Bautch and guests Dr. Victor Roggli, John Kleven, and Dr. John Lindsey, this episode does a deep dive into the aging experience and considerations around sexual health that aging men with CF have to consider.
Episode 2: Becoming a Dad
Becoming a father is a significant decision for someone with CF, but with treatment advancements (in particular, modulators that have enhanced the longevity and quality of life of pwCF) and accessibility of assistive reproductive technologies, more men are finding the joys of fatherhood.
Episode 1: Male Infertility and the IVF Experience
Infertility affects 98% of men with cystic fibrosis. In this episode, we unpack what it really means to navigate fertility testing, assisted reproduction, and relationship dynamics throughout the IVF journey for men. Guests share honest stories about the mix of science, hope, and vulnerability that comes with starting a family with CF.
Did you know?
- Infertility occurs in about 95-98% of males with CF.
- Low testosterone levels affect up to 88% of men with CF compared with up to 12% of their healthy peers.
- 65% of males report sexual dysfunction, primarily due to lack of ejaculate.
- CF can potentially affect the development or function of the prostate.
- More than 80% of men with CF express desire to have children.
- Sperm retrieval rates can be as high as 100%.
