Catch Your Breath: Women & Lung Health Initiative
CLICK HERE FOR Inspiration INFORMATION!
Lung disease has grown steadily over the last three decades and women are bearing a disproportionate share of the health burden.
The lung disease toll on women is seen in many ways. The number of women diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease─ largely emphysema and chronic bronchitis─ has surged ahead of men. In a recent 14 year period, asthma rates among women jumped 97% compared to a 22% increase in men. When it comes to lung cancer, more women die from the disease than from any other type of cancer, and female smokers are twice as likely to develop lung cancer than male smokers.
The Numbers are Startling
- In 2000, for the first time, more women died from COPD than men.
Click here for more women & COPD facts! - More than 80,000 American women are affected by lung cancer each year, and more than 70,000 die from it each year.
Click here for more women & lung cancer facts! - In 2003, 11.6 million females had asthma compared to 8.2 million males.
Click here for more women & asthma facts! - Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,000 women in the U.S. annually.
Click here for more women & tobacco use facts!
A Women and Lung Health Initiative
These gender differences prompted the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago to create Catch Your Breath, a year round educational initiative to:
- Educate the public and medical professionals on the disproportionate effect of lung disease on women
- Advocate for legislative change
- Increase funding for research to better understand the biology behind gender differences in lung disease and to improve treatment for everyone
The initiative was launched in Chicago in 2004 with the first Catch Your Breath Conference which brought together physicians, researchers, health professionals and families to explore key issues in women and lung disease treatment and research. Almost 400 people attended the first conference to hear the keynote address from Dr James Kiley, MD, Division Director, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The event gained momentum and similar conferences featuring our distinctive butterfly logo are being held in 13 locations throughout the country.
Catch Your Breath has expanded beyond an annual conference to become a year-round educational initiative. Supporters are taking their awareness campaign and plea for stepped-up research to media outlets and area legislators throughout the state.
You Can Help Change the Numbers
Advocate for more research funding. Join the Respiratory Health Association's e-advocacy network. You'll receive the CYB e-newsletter that contains legislative updates and information on upcoming events along with tips and templates for writing your elected officials. Email Lysette Talavera to sign up.
Attend Catch Your Breath events. Every fall CYB hosts a conference to bring medical and business professionals together with families touched by lung disease to explore women and lung health issues. The CYB event Inspiration, a benefit for women's lung health, takes place every spring.
Help educate others. Schedule a presentation with a member of the initiative to educate your co-workers, volunteer/peer group or book club about women and lung health issues. Contact Stacy Ignoffo at (312) 628-0205 or via e-mail.
Raise awareness by wearing the butterfly. Purchase a Catch Your Breath butterfly pin or other CYB merchandise to show your support and raise awareness of this important issue. All proceeds benefit lung disease research and education programs. E-mail us or download the merchandise form for more information.
Join the planning committee. The Catch Your Breath planning committee is always looking for passionate volunteers to help plan events, fundraise, educate the community and develop strategies to build on the initiative's momentum.
Support Catch Your Breath with a Donation. Funds raised for CYB support much-needed lung disease research and education programs. To make a donation contact Tracey Ford at (312) 229-6184 or via e-mail.
For more information about Catch Your Breath or other lung health issues, e-mail or call Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago at (312) 243-2000.