What is 65 Roses? What Does It Have to Do With CF?

The phrase "65 roses" is simply another way of saying cystic fibrosis. It came into being in 1965 when a young boy with cystic fibrosis overheard his mother talking about the disease on the phone. When she said the words “cystic fibrosis”, he thought she said “65 roses”. The mother was touched by her son’s mistake because he saw something beautiful in a disease that can often be quite ugly. The phrase is now a registered trademark of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which adopted the rose as its symbol.