Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a disease of aging associated with intense medical and financial burden and expected to grow in incidence within the US population. Median survival from diagnosis is 3.8 years, although some patients succumb to a rapid death within 6 months. New therapies have recently become available. While these medications slow the rate of pulmonary deterioration, they have no impact on ultimate survival or quality of life. Although transplantation is an effective surgical therapy, less than 20% of patients ever receive a lung transplant. The remaining 80% have few treatment options and a likely rapidly progressive downhill course. Despite the fatal prognosis, we have found that patients and caregivers often fail to understand the poor prognosis as the disease relentlessly progresses. At the end of life, IPF patients and their caregivers experience stress, symptom burden, poor quality of life, and inadequate preparedness for end-of-life care planning.