The COPD National Patient Taskforce, one of the committees of The Australian Lung Foundation, is undertaking research to write a book about the myriad of stories that patients of COPD can tell about their journey with the disease. As well, the editor is keen to hear the stories of the carers of COPD patients.Do you have COPD? Then we would like you to share your story with us.

We want to hear from you now!

By participating in this exciting project you will further expand the public awareness and knowledge of these serious debilitating diseases.How do I become a partner in this project and tell my unique story?

You will be helping those people who have recently been diagnosed, understand not only the impact of these diseases on their and their families’ lives, but more importantly, show them how COPD can be managed through the range of treatment, rehabilitation and support services that are available in the community.

It is simple really! Just write about your journey with COPD then send it to:

Mr Ron Austin
Editor - ‘The Stories Patients tell about COPD’
The Australian Lung Foundation
P.O. Box 847
LUTWYCHE QLD 4030
OR email - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Feel unsure about what to write, perhaps the following points will help guide your thoughts. Your story is important. Your story is interesting. So share it with your fellow COPD sufferers as well as other Australians and help them understand what it is like to live with COPD.

For more information and story guidelines see:

 COPD_Story_Fact_Sheet.pdf 164.16 Kb

Patient Stories

Click on the title to go to each complete story.

“The following patient stories represent the personal experiences and beliefs of the authors.  These do not necessarily represent those of The Australian Lung Foundation.  All those who have concern about their lung health should consult a doctor.”

Bryan Clift Hello! Bryan Clift is my name, the whole of my working life was spent in private enterprise toiling in manufacturing and consultancy, in both wholesale and retail fields until 1991...

Judy Hart My journey with asthma, and over these last few years with COPD, has been life-long, as I suffered my first attack of asthma at 14 months of age and my...

Veronica Kemp I experienced my first asthma attack whilst under anaesthetic while having my tonsils removed at 16 years of age. From that time on my condition was quite chronic. I was prescribed...

Hazel Mellor Through my association with Southern Highlands LungNet Support Group, firstly as Secretary and currently as Chairman, I have learned much which has helped me as carer for my husband, a...

Barry Blaikie - DOB 01.04.1935 I was first diagnosed with emphysema in early 1988. My father had smoked and passed away with the same disease and I also had two elderly aunts, who had never smoked...

Reg Hunt - REG'S STORY Reg who lives in Rosebud, Victoria, and is now aged 83, has a similar story to tell - he served in the Royal Australian Navy and led an active life...

Frances Merson - KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY says Frances, an 80 year old War Widow who has lived at Mornington on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria since 2002. She writes: I have a very supportive son and daughter also...

Kenneth Hodgson - SMOKING LED TO COPD Kenneth of Bateau Bay, NSW, started smoking when he spent three years serving with the British Army in Germany. He describes how this led to COPD and also offers some...

Jeanette Rogers - LIFE AS A CARER Jeanette is the wife and carer of former farmer Daryl who was diagnosed with emphysema in 1997 and told he would no longer work. The realization that life would not...

Barry Hyland - A VETERAN'S CAUTIONARY TALE Barry was a former heavy smoke, and is now 67 years of age living in Windang NSW, with his wife Robyn, who is also his carer.  I have been retired for...

Margaret Devine - MARGARET'S WORRYING STORY Margaret is 72 years old and she lives with her husband in Primbee, on the South Coast of NSW and talks earnestly of her now limited future following the diagnosis...

Graham Webster - A GRUMPY OLD MAN NO MORE Graham who is aged 71, pulls no punches when it comes to himself: “I was a grumpy old man. I was cranky and frustrated at all the things I could...

Chris Collins - WE CAN HAVE AN ENJOYABLE AND FULFILLING LIFE IN SPITE OF COPD Chris is a 74 year old retiree who lives on the NSW South Coast. A long term smoker, he acquired emphysema and tells of his hazardous journey since that diagnosis...

Trish Miller - I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG How many COPD sufferers have said “I knew something was wrong?” Diagnosed with COPD, Alpha 1 - Anti-Trypsin Deficiency and GORD changed Trish’s life. But from being absolutely shattered in 2002...

John Baddock - TRY TO RETAIN A REALISTIC BUT POSITIVE OUTLOOK Even if smoking does not kill immediately the long-term effects mean an inexorable decline in health.  Having been a veteran smoker John was finally diagnosed with COPD. He is now...

Ken Watson - COPD NOW 'MANAGES ME' A number of COPD sufferers acquired their disease during their working life. In Ken’s case he was a smoker and also working in unhealthy environments which contained asbestos and rock...

Heather Stone - FROM 1998 TO 2011 - A JOURNEY Heather writes of her experiences with asthma then COPD, but she tells her story with great passion, empathy  and humour, traits which no doubt have helped her survive her health...

Barb Prime - MY LUNGS SAY 'NO' BUT KEEP SMILING A typical tale of a smoker who developed emphysema and then COPD, Barb’s story is one of slow decline until oxygen has become part of her daily life. This is my...

Mary Clement - A LIGHT SMOKER'S TALE Mary, now aged 75 lives at Oak Flats, NSW. Although only a light smoker for 20 years, she acquired COPD with its associated limitations on life style. My occupation was Telephonist...

Chris Bentley - WE STILL HAVE A BUCKET LIST TO WORK ON! Chris acquired asthma as a small child during the bombing of British cities during 1941 but it was not until she was in her forties that she was diagnosed with...

Daryl Rogers - SMOKING WAS NOT THE ONLY CAUSE The combination of tobacco smoke, agricultural fertilisers, dust and industrial chemicals can be a deadly combination as Daryl found out when he was told he had emphysema. His approach...

Darryl Summerhayes - LUNGS OF STEEL ARE NOW LUNGS OF MUSH Too often thought of as a condition that only affects the elderly, Darryl found out that a diagnosis of chronic asthma, COPD and Vocal Chord Dysfunction was to dramatically change...

Virginia Harrison - MY STORY Struck down with COPD at the age of 14, Virginia has coped with health problems for many years but still enjoys life. She has been an active member of the...

Dinah Taylor - HOW DO I LIVE WITH COPD? Dinah’s story is typical of the many ex-smokers who contracted COPD. She describes her journey to diagnosis and then how she copes with the trials of everyday life. Like many...

Albert Richards - BE YOUR OWN HEALTH PROJECT MANAGER Albert provides some common sense approaches to managing your own health, and discusses the unusual problems associated with the use of Variable Positive Air Pressure Therapy (VPAP). The Medical Profession The patient...

Tess Lindsay - THE PERILS OF PASSIVE SMOKING Now 84 years old, Tess looks back on her carreer as a nurse, and her early bouts of lung problems from childhood on to which she as a non-smoker, attributes...

David Garland - ALPHA 1 ANTI-TRYPSIN DEFICIENCY - A FATHER'S SAD TALE David was motivated to write this paper so that the experience that his family has gained may be available to any other persons who are diagnosed with this very rare...

Jo Ventura - MY JOURNEY THROUGH OLD AGE WITH COPD Recently bereaved 80 year old Joe lives on the Central Coast of NSW, and describes how he finally came to cope with this debilitating condition: I was diagnosed with emphysema a...

Hayden Ventura-Chase - BEING A CARER FOR MY GRANDFATHER Hayden Ventura-Chase is only aged 19 but acts as a carer for his elderly grandfather Joe Ventura. To have the views of such a young carer provides a new and...

Sue Summerhayes - THE CARER'S VIEW OF 'LUNGS OF STEEL' ARE NOW 'LUNGS OF MUSH' In an earlier story Darryl wrote of his problems in coping with COPD. His wife Sue has now provided us with a full time Carer's view of living with a...

Megan Rushton - MY FRIEND PHYL: ALWAYS THE LADY My friendship with Phyl began some forty years ago when I started my first job as a legal secretary in a Sydney city law firm. In those days Phyl was...

Colette Prause - THE NEED FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF COPD A common story among COPD sufferers is that for years they were unaware of their slowly deteriorating health. Collete is now 46 years old but was not diagnosed with COPD...

Roy Martin My name is Roy Martin; I am nearly 55 years old and live in Plumpton, an outer western suburb of Sydneywith my wife Debbie and our two teenage children Lauren...