Carol Liddle
Patient Representative, the Taskforce for Lung Health
There are 1.2 million people living with diagnosed COPD in the UK, with many more estimated to be waiting for a diagnosis. We need to address this, now.
If you ask the average person in the street what COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is, or how life limiting it is, they won’t have a clue. For the most part, COPD continues to be a hidden and ignored condition.
I live with COPD
My father died as a result of COPD in 1996, so when I started to show the same symptoms in 2004, I knew, deep down, that I had it, too.
COPD is life changing. I don’t think anyone really realises how frightening and isolating it is to not be able to plan ahead. Even something small like a walk to the corner shop can become an impossible task, there are days where I can’t walk more than 20 meters.
The progression of this condition is slow and insidious. You often aren’t aware of your limitations before a lot of damage has been done. But slowly – because of breathlessness – normal life becomes a process of compromise until on some days, some things just aren’t achievable.
This year, I would really like to try and change the conversations around this deadly condition, which is the fourth leading cause of death in the world.
Changing the way people talk about COPD
This year, I would really like to try and change the conversations around this deadly condition, which is the fourth leading cause of death in the world.
I want COPD to be mentioned every time serious lung conditions are spoken about. It’s so much more than wheezing or being breathless. We need the media to engage more with people like myself to highlight its symptoms and what life with COPD is like. Even when I’ve been to the hospital people have assumed that I have asthma because I’m wheezing and out of breath.
A public lack of awareness, stigma and fear surrounding this long-term condition leads to late diagnosis and life changing interventions being missed and sadly, people dying earlier than they might with the right treatments.
It could happen to anyone
There are 1.2 million people living with COPD, and this could happen to you, too. We need you to question any symptoms such as persistent coughs or wheezing. We need your loved ones to say, ‘get it checked out!’.
The Taskforce for Lung Health and the British Lung Foundation work hard to raise awareness of COPD. But we all have a part to play in changing the narrative and raising awareness of the condition, together.
