Lung Foundation Australia

Support for living well with a lung condition

You are not alone. Services are available to help you live well with your lung condition.

Call Lung Foundation Australia’s Information & Support Centre for:

Information
Access to our Lung Care Nurse
Details of patient support groups Australia-wide (offering friendship, guest speakers, activities and social outings)
A quarterly newsletter with practical tips on coping better with your lung problem
Details of pulmonary rehabilitation programs Australia-wide
Advice on how to set up a patient support group in your area

Key lung disease facts

Lung disease in Australia is common and often underestimated. Here are some current statistics:
Lung disease affects over 2.6 million people in Australia
19,000 people die from lung disease in Australia each year
1 in 7 Australians over the age of 40 has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); over half of these do not have a doctor’s diagnosis of COPD
COPD is the second highest cause of avoidable hospitalisation
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer. Each year it claims more lives than breast, ovarian and prostate cancers combined
Around 10,000 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. The latest projections indicate that this figure is expected to increase by 40% by the year 2020
Approximately 10% of the Australian population (2 million people) has asthma

Our services

The Lung Foundation offers a range of services to support patients and carers, and to reduce the impact of lung disease for future generations. These services include:

Awareness – Each year, we run public awareness campaigns to draw attention to the importance of lung health and the symptoms of lung disease and to encourage people to seek professional advice if they are concerned about their lung health. We also produce a range of materials to support these messages, including the Lung Health Checklist.
Support – We offer a number of initiatives and programs to support patients and carers. These include our Information and Support Centre which can be contacted free-call on 1800 654 301 and via email enquiries@lungfoundation.com.au. The Centre offers confidential support, information and advice to enquirers.

Our patient support group network includes over 100 groups across Australia who meet regularly and provide a social environment for patients and carers to share information and experiences about living with a lung condition.

The Lung Foundation facilitates monthly lung cancer telephone support groups for patients and carers. These groups offer those affected by lung cancer the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge and connect with others in an open, non-threatening environment.

We also run a program called Lungs in Action – a safe, enjoyable, low cost exercise maintenance program in the community for people who have completed a pulmonary rehabilitation program.

Information and education – The Lung Foundation offers both consumer and professional education in the areas of lung health and respiratory/lung disease. These education programs include annual patient education days in capital cities and regional locations; online training resources; professional committees and forums; and a wide range of literature, including our comprehensive website – www.lungfoundation.com.au. We also provide a wide range of clinical resources including guidelines, training, conferences and registries.

Newsletters – The Lung Foundation offers a free quarterly newsletter, LungNet News, which provides articles about lung health, and keeps readers informed about Lung Foundation programs and initiatives. We also offer an electronic clinical newsletter for health professionals.

Advocacy – We are focused on developing relationships with Government and other influential stakeholders in respiratory health to highlight both the financial and personal impacts of lung disease. In doing so, we aim to equip policy-makers with a better understanding of lung disease to encourage them to make provision for awareness, research and patient support.

Research – The Lung Foundation supports lung disease research in Australia and each year, we present a range of awards to established and upcoming researchers in the area of COPD, lung cancer and other areas of respiratory disease.

Get involved

There are a number of ways you can get involved with the Lung Foundation. Here are some suggestions:

Become a financial member – Financial membership of the Lung Foundation gives you the opportunity to actively assist us in meeting our vision and goals

Join a support group – There are approximately 100 patient support groups across Australia to help those living with lung disease

Make a donation – By donating to the Lung Foundation, you can help us continue with our valuable work in the fight against lung disease. All donations over $2 are tax deductible

Volunteer – The Lung Foundation greatly appreciates the assistance of an army of clinical and community volunteers who generously donate their time. We warmly welcome any offers to help us with our wide range of initiatives and we have opportunities for people with a range of abilities and skills.

Make a bequest – A bequest of any size to the Lung Foundation is an investment in the future – a very positive and personal commitment by you, which will help us to maintain and expand our lung health programs.

Hold a fundraiser – If you would like to hold a fundraising event on behalf of the Lung Foundation, please let us know. We have lots of tips and tricks to help you along the way!

Social Media – A simple way to show your support is to follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook

Twitter – twitter.com/lungfoundation
Facebook – facebook.com/australianlungfoundation

This is also a great way to find out the latest news at the Lung Foundation.

Corporate support – There are many ways in which the corporate sector can contribute to our fundraising efforts. We invite companies to work with us to develop a partnership that meets your corporate social responsibility objectives and our vision and goals.

For more information about the above services and how we can help you, please visit our website at www.lungfoundation.com.au, call us on 1800 654 301, or email enquiries@lungfoundation.com.au.