How does it feel to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)? Pinch your nose and breath through a coffee straw. 46,015 Hawai‘i adults with COPD have this feeling every day. An equal number suffer, undiagnosed. November 19, 2015 is World COPD Day. It’s to create awareness of all lung conditions that cause difficulty in breathing. COPD is the third leading cause of death and second top cause of disability in the United States, claiming one life every four minutes. 85–90 percent of cases start with smoking; others come from exposure to heavy secondhand tobacco or toxic work environments.
The Hawai‘i COPD Coalition provides free lung health clinics, monthly support group meetings, annual September COPD Education Day, and lung health advocacy for patients, families and healthcare providers. A new online COPD Population Screener® helps you figure out if your breathing symptoms might be COPD. The COPD Assessment Test® helps COPD patients find ways to maintain an active life.
Info on free monthly meetings with patients and caregivers guest speakers are available online: www.Hawaiicopd.org/events/support-groups/.
Support Group Meetings:
Pali Momi: 2nd Thursdays 2014, 9:30 am or 10 am for 90 minutes; 2nd Tuesdays 2015, 10 am – noon.
Kaiser-Honolulu, 1010 Pensacola, Conf. Rm. 2E, 2nd Fridays, 10 am – noon.
Hawai‘i COPD Coalition, contact Valerie Chang
808-699-9839 | Valerie@Hawaiicopd.org
www.Hawaiicopd.org
