NOTE. John's biographical notes and his wife Joan's letter announcing his death on 10th June 2008 have been moved to the memorial page
If you would like to read about recent announcements and developments, please go at once to the Site and Health News page
THIS PAGE WILL NOW INTRODUCE COPD.
SOME LINKS MAY BE BROKEN (FOR NOW) THEREFORE PLEASE CLICK ON A PAGE ABOVE THAT INTERESTS YOU.
WELCOME TO ALL READERS
This site is primarily for patients and especially for those suffering from chronic Emphysema, Asthma or Bronchitis, now known as COPD
WHAT DOES COPD MEAN?
Well it stands for Chronic (that means it progresses slowly) Obstructive (that means it causes narrowing of the airways in your lungs making it more difficult to breathe) Pulmonary (that means a disease of the lungs) Disease(obvious!). Hence "COPD"!
So does COPD cover just emphysema? Unfortunately no – COPD also covers chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis and other airways diseases. But it does not cover lung cancer.
· COPD kills 30,000 people a year in England and Wales . It is the 5th biggest killer in the UK and the 5th biggest killer worldwide
· COPD is the only major cause of death whose incidence is on the increase
· There are an estimated 3 million people with COPD in the UK , although only an estimated 900,000 are correctly diagnosed .
· In the UK, the rate of COPD has been increasing nearly three times faster amongst women than men
· COPD kills around 12,000 UK women every year [vii]
According to a new study, many people with emphysema, asthma and bronchitis continue to smoke despite the risks.
Smoking plays a huge role in chronic lung disease and is the major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Clearly, quitting smoking is a key part of managing this disabling condition. But this message is not being acted upon, according to a new study from the Centers (USA) for Disease Control and Prevention.
They surveyed over 11,000 patients and found that more than 36 per cent are current smokers, compared to 22 per cent of the general population. Around half of the COPD patients had tried to quit smoking and 14.6 of them succeeded - mostly without any help. Of the smokers with COPD, around a quarter said that they had not received any advice on smoking cessation. Given that counselling and medication can help people quit smoking, far more should be done to offer this support to people with COPD.
Source
American Journal of Health Promotion July 2006
If you are reading this you will probably have already been diagnosed with COPD or have been told for example that you have emphysema or frequent asthma.
If you wish, you can go now to the Memorial page (see at top of this page) and read John's account of his life and emphysema problems. He was the founder of the site and expresses himself as such. Also on that page we show tributes to John from those who have benefited from this website.
This is a posting by my friend Jean Rommes who lives in Indiana USA. I think it is the best personal description of our problems and answers I have seen. It was written to a lady who was very scared after being told she had copd. David.
Jean M. Rommes Osceola, IAjmrommes@mchsi.com
Exercise not only lets me live, it enables me to have a life.
HOME PAGE FOR COPD AND EMPHYSEMA SUFFERERS AND CARERS