It causes around 17,000 deaths per year worldwide. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a respiratory disease mainly linked to smoking. Although treatments improve the symptoms, it cannot be cured. On the eve of the world day, two patients affected by this pathology testify.
Philippe blows into a device. He is one of the 15% of adults affected by COPD in Polynesia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease contracted after tonsillar cancer and 3 pneumothoraxes. His respiratory illness is a result of smoking.
Today suffering from pulmonary emphysema, Philippe is obliged to undergo lifelong treatment. “[Pour] For me, it was taken relatively early, so it’s okay, I have medication so I’m not fitted, I don’t need constant oxygen, but I have treatment for life...[C’est une maladie handicapante ?] Football is over, I run a PSG supporters club (!), c“It’s true that I can no longer make any effort, I have to force myself when I walk, it’s tiring…”recognizes this patient.
Tamati also has COPD. Followed for 15 years by Doctor Ferrer, her monthly biotherapy treatment, which she will have to take for life, allows her to feel better. “I smoked from the age of 20, and now I am 68. I stopped smoking 4 years ago because of illness…Before I weighed 52 kg, little by little I gained weight, and now I am at 76 kg…I don’t do sports, every day I collect pehu in the yard”remarks the lady.
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Shortness of breath, chronic cough, recurring or persistent bronchitis, these symptoms must be taken seriously and require medical consultation. In 80% of cases, the disease is attributable to smoking.
Although we can slow down its progression, we cannot completely cure it…so patients are unanimous: “You have children, stop smoking if you want to see them grow up, it’s better to stop now”, recommends Tamati. For his part, Philippe recommends not “start smoking, because starting is easy, stopping is horrible!”
Health
