Lung Disease in WV

Bev Davis
Register-Herald Senior Editor

Anyone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more commonly referred to as COPD, or their family members might be interested in the state’s first Respiratory Rally to be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Charleston Civic Center. The event is sponsored by the American Lung Association.

“If you’re like me and you have COPD, you know that sometimes it’s hard to find a good doctor, useful information, adequate resources, etc.,” said Steve James, who’s helping coordinate the event. “If you’re a health care professional who treats folks like me with COPD, you know that there’s a definite lack of information, up-to-date programming and community resources available to patients.”

Two national keynote speakers will provide some of the latest information available about COPD.

Keynote speaker Steven D. Nathan, M.D., is the director of the advanced lung disease program and the medical director of the lung transplant program at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. He is also an affiliate professor of biomedical sciences at George Mason University.

The second speaker, Len Geiger, was diagnosed as Alpha-1 (Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency) lung affected in 1994 and has been involved in the Alpha-1 community ever since. He received a life-saving double lung transplant in 2002. Since then, he has been featured in Runner’s World magazine and Sports Illustrated as well as a number of other newspaper articles and publications.

Having been a guest or subject of documentaries on CNN, the “Today” show, Discovery Health Channel, HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” and most recently ABC's “World News Tonight with Charles Gibson,” Geiger continues to raise awareness for Alpha-1 and the importance of early detection.

As director of Alpha-1 Patient Advocacy for Centric Health Resources, the distributor of Prolastin, Geiger maintains his commitment to raising awareness of Alpha-1 and serves as a resource for medical professionals, newly diagnosed patients and their families.

For those living with COPD, attendance is free. Lunch will be provided, and those with COPD can bring two friends or family members to assist them.

There will be free oxygen refills for those who need them. There will be door prizes awarded throughout the day that will benefit those coping with lung disease.

Information will be provided about a genetic cause of COPD, James said. “Up to 3 percent of those with COPD — me being one of them — have a genetic disorder called Alpha-1 as an underlying cause.” Free Alpha-1 testing will be available at the rally.

“A lot of people who have COPD are smokers, but there are a lot of us who got it genetically and we’re trying to get the word out about that,” James said.

COPD, also referred to as emphysema and bronchitis, is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 120,000 Americans each year, James said.

“In West Virginia, COPD is the third most common cause of death. In fact, according to WVU’s Center for Respiratory Biology and Lung Disease, our state ranks first in the nation for rates of death due to COPD.”

James said he expects the rally to beneficial for anyone with the disease or those who have a loved one affected by COPD.

“If you have COPD, if you know someone who does, of if you are a health care professional who wants to see your patients learn better management skills and could use both information and inspiration to live with their disease, I strongly encourage you to attend. After all, it’s free and I think you will enjoy the day,” James said.

For more information or to register, call toll-free at 1-800-586-4872 or 304-342-6600.