Better Breathers Club’s mission: Beat lung disease

Taking a breath ought to be routine and easy, but for many people, this critical function for everyday living has grown difficult.

Groups such as the American Lung Association and the COPD Foundation continue efforts to circulate more awareness of the problem, ideas for prevention and management, and ways to find help.

Publicity also comes from other circles. Joe Nichols, a country hitmaker this past decade with “Brokenheartsville,” “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah,” has joined a campaign called “Breathless: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at IPF,” raising awareness of a rare and fatal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis that claimed his father.

On the Grand Strand, a Better Breathers Club by the American Lung Association – one of 10 such monthly gatherings across South Carolina – provides education and resources to anyone coping with a chronic lung disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or pulmonary fibrosis. The meetings are free, also with family members and caretakers welcome.

Join the group 1-2:30 p.m. on the third Friday monthly, including Feb. 19, at the Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, 4070 U.S. 17 Bypass, Murrells Inlet – in the first-floor classroom.

Bill White of Myrtle Beach, a co-facilitator for Better Breathers, aired his praise and thanks for the club’s mission, and especially for his improved health to share more life with his wife of 31 years and their two daughters. Lung disease, he emphasized, is the third-leading killer in the United States.

Question | What are the most prevalent ways that people end up dealing with lung disease, including emphysema?

Answer | The lack of oxygen. ... Shortness of breath is a huge component of this. A lot of people don’t know they have conditions such as emphysema or COPD until it really gets a hold of them.

Q. | How long has this Better Breathers Club been connecting with the community, and how did your entry occur?

A. | Two years, and I got involved a little more than a year ago, with Debbie Collins from Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, who’s still a facilitator. It’s so nice that the hospital gives us this space to use. ... The group is amazing; it has really uplifted me, and I need to pay back. ...

On May 31, 2014, when I had respiratory failure, doctors gave me a 10 percent chance of living, but I’m very stubborn. I was unconscious for 12 days. I also want to pay back to my family for that endurance, as well for as putting them through that.

Q. | How does this kind of support group help uplift people and show how so many people can relate to coping with such challenges?

A. | Just sharing experiences helps. Every month, we bring in a guest speaker. This Friday, we have Dr. Roy Pleasants II, one of the leading pharmacists from Duke Medicine. He co-chaired the North Carolina COPD Task Force and was the driving figure in the development of the South Carolina COPD state plan, which was just published.

Q. | In your tenure helping facilitate the Better Breathers Club, what trends or shared characteristics have more people been sharing in the battle against lung disease?

A. | I always have been a type Double-A personality, so I take the bull by the horns. People are always wary of shortness of breath or running out of breath, and that anxiety. Just going to pulmonary rehabilitation, I just enjoy talking with a lot of people, who can relate to not being able to catch your breath at all, because a person with COPD has to slow down to catch his or her breath.

Q. | Late disco queen Donna Summer, according to news reports, had spoken of her contracting lung cancer from the airborne toxic asbestos, dust and particles on the scene from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. What are other ways that lung cancer lays claim to people that are not considered enough in the overall equation for awareness and prevention?

A. | In work environments. We have a lot of military veterans, especially in the Navy, with specialists from ships, who have gotten exposed to asbestos.

Q. | How much an effect does years of smoking leave through wear and tear on the body ?

A. | My COPD and emphysema were from smoking, even though I was extremely active; I used to referee and coach youth soccer.

Q. | Never will I forget a school assembly in 10th grade, where a guest with a stoma in the front neck spoke about the perils of smoking, leaving a lasting impression so that I never would even consider any iota the thought of inhaling anything. A TV spot of late, airing during NFL playoff games, has contained similar warnings. Is that message in such a firsthand approach still connecting with youth day?

A. | It seems the word is reaching out to youth reaching out to youth at this point, with less youth smoking overall.

Q. | What other services might other local residents coping with lung disease want to check out?

A. | Pulmonary rehabilitation: People don’t utilize it enough. If you don’t get your condition checked, you’ll feel worse and worse. All the hospitals here (in Myrtle Beach, Conway, Little River, Murrells Inlet and Georgetown) have pulmonary rehab.

Q. | What forms of exercise keep you working out and in a groove?

A. | I work out seven days a week. I do a treadmill, a stepper, and an arm bike. At Conway Medical Center, I just get into a rhythm and go.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Better Breathers Club’s mission: Beat lung disease."