November is COPD Awareness Month!
There are many ways for you to become actively involved in the treatment of your symptoms – both physically and emotionally. The COPD Foundation announced a new COPD Advocacy Drivers Program to spread the word that COPD is largely underdiagnosed, undertreated and underfunded.
All it takes for you to become an effective COPD advocate is to watch a 30-minute video. You will learn tips for successful interactions when meeting with elected officials, training on the COPD Action Center, a review of Civics 101 and will know the COPD Foundation’s advocacy activities and goals. After the video, take a 5-question quiz.
Successful participants will receive their COPD Advocacy Drivers License which certifies them as trained COPD advocates.
Begin your training today at www.copdfoundation.org/Advocacy.aspx.
A recent article in COPD–Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease notes COPD imposes a substantial burden on American society by inhibit- ing employment and creating disability – more so than heart disease, cancer, hypertension and diabetes. Please encourage your family and friends to join the Drive for COPD Awareness!
Our friend, Lori Palermo, would like to honor her Dad, Wayne A. Litzenberger, and all those fighting for their “breath of life,” with this COPD Gold Ribbon lapel pin. Available for $3 each (includes shipping), write to Lori at 433 Lehigh Road, Gouldsboro, PA 18424.
To celebrate COPD Awareness Month, visit the American Lung Association’s web site at www.lung. org, call 1-800-586-4872 or visit a local office to get your copy of a COPD Action Plan. This COPD Action Plan is a 2-in-1 personal tool that helps you and your doctor outline a plan that is best for you.
With a plan, you will know how and when to take your medicines, when to call your healthcare provider and when to get emergency care. Each person’s COPD is different and so is each management plan.
| Why such a need to raise awareness for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease? The FAIR (Funds Allocated In Research) Foundation keeps track of where our country’s research dollars are being spent (see chart
below) and somehow COPD, the third leading cause of death in the United States, is coming up very short! |
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| Our Government’s Bio-Medical Research Allocations by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) | ||||
|
DISEASE |
2012 NIH RESEARCH
$$ |
DEATHS PER DISEASE | $$ PER PATIENT DEATH | $$ PER
PATIENT |
| COPD | 120 Million | 141,075 | 851 | 8 |
| Hepatitis C | 102 Million | 12,000 | 8,500 | 23 |
| Cardiovascular Disease | 2.2 Billion | 777,100 | 2,831 | 27 |
| Hepatitis B | 67 Million | 5,000 | 13,400 | 54 |
| Diabetes | 1 Billion | 70,601 | 14,164 | 42 |
| Alzheimer’s Disease | 458 Million | 82,476 | 5,553 | 86 |
| Parkinson’s Disease | 157 Million | 20,507 | 7,665 | 157 |
| Prostate Cancer | 337 Million | 28,517 | 11,817 | 177 |
| HIV/AIDS | 3.2 Billion | 10,290 | 310,830 | 3,047 |
| All Cancers Total | 6 Billion | 566,137 | 10,598 | 4,901 |
| West Nile Virus | 46 Million | 45 | 1,022,222 | 46,890 |