Laura Dern on the Disease that Took Her Mother’s Life

Key takeaways

• Laura Dern discusses acting as the care partner for her mother, Diane Ladd, who passed away last year.
• Ladd was diagnosed in 2018 with a lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and given just a few months to live.
• Dern is now working to spread awareness of the disease, including by sharing her and Ladd’s journey with AARP.

Summary

Laura Dern, 59, shares the lessons she learned while caring for her beloved mother, actor Diane Ladd, after her 2018 diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a progressive disease that causes scarring in the lungs.

Ladd was given a dire prognosis: Her lungs were so compromised, doctors said, she might have only a few more months to live. But Ladd fought the disease, with Dern as her care partner, for another seven years until her death at 89 in November 2025

Now Dern is working to spread the word about IPF, hoping to help others receive earlier diagnoses and better treatment.

The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Full Transcript:

[00:00:00] They told us, “Your mom has three to six months to live. Be gentle with her.

[00:00:05] There’s really nothing you can do.” I wasted time being in fear instead of in

celebration of the life that she had.

[00:00:22] In 2018, my amazing mom, Diane Ladd, was diagnosed with idiopathic

[00:00:29] pulmonary fibrosis, also known as IPF, which is one of almost 200 diseases

under the

[00:00:38] banner of interstitial lung disease. It causes permanent scarring. It’s a

progressive disease.

[00:00:44] It’s irreversible. She was having a lot of symptoms, and misdiagnosed for

probably a

[00:00:53] couple of years at least, which were shortness of breath, dry cough.

[00:00:59] She was having esophageal issues, and they said it was acid reflux. Once we got

the diagnosis, it’s devastating.

[00:01:10] My mom was an incredible self-advocate. And because of it, we learned

[00:01:16] all the things that could help: oxygen support and pulmonary rehab and a great

pulmonologist,

[00:01:23] and of course, walks and talks and breathing and medications. My mom said,

“Well, they told me I had three to six months to live. And

[00:01:33] instead of dying, I made two movies, a TV show, wrote a book with my daughter,

wrote an autobiography and a screenplay, and it’s been seven years.”

[00:01:42] So do not believe in a timetable, ever. When you’re afraid, talk about it.

[00:01:54] Even the caregivers. You know, I thought I wasn’t supposed to say I’m scared or

I’m sad, because I didn’t wanna upset her.

[00:02:01] And it was once we started taking these walks together and talking about

everything in our lives, we were also able to talk about my

[00:02:10] fear of losing her and her fear of dying and not being done yet.

[00:02:27] My mom was so passionate about sharing her story and asking

[00:02:33] me to join also to talk about what I learned as a caregiver, to make sure other

families knew the early

[00:02:40] warning signs, knew the importance of a diagnosis and how to get it, and the

team they needed to create around them.

[00:02:47] She used to always talk about, “I have to get beyond the fear of that first

diagnosis,” where she was so afraid she only had months.

[00:02:56] She was determined to push through the scars and to honor each day as a gift.