Well, you have COPD because you were a smoker, and you did this to yourself which is why there is a stigma.  Ok, but my friend has type 2 diabetes because she ate too much sweet stuff and is overweight and you offer her treatment and all kinds of federal money to help her find a cure for her disease.  You assign no stigma to diabetes.  Well, there are also genetics involved in the development of diabetes and besides all fat people do not develop diabetes.  Also, some highly active people who are not greatly overweight get diabetes.

You still have not answered my question about why there is stigma attached to COPD.  Yes, I smoked, but not everyone who has COPD ever smoked.  Some of these people have a special type of COPD called Alpha 1, while others are not Alphas.  Some people who smoke to not get COPD, so how is that any different from a person with type 2 diabetes?  Why has COPD been relegated to funding way down the line from other common diseases?

If I look at my case specifically then I would have to say that I was a former smoker.  I never was a heavy smoker and rarely smoked a whole pack a day.  I was born premature with a whole in my diaphragm which may cause me a little bit of breathing distress, but not much.  The history of COPD in my family is nonexistent, so I do not know if genetics plays a part in my disease.  I have been tested for Alpha 1 and I do not have the genes for Alpha 1.

I have Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) which has been associated with COPD.  GERD has not been given the designation of a causal agent, but one theory is that people with GERD do inhale some of the acidic fumes into their lungs thus causing damage to the tissue.  I have Grave’s Disease and I have read articles recently which show a correlation between Grave’s Disease and COPD or at least lung damage.  I had the disease for some time prior to being diagnosed.  The physician who was caring for me at the time said that he did not consider Grave’s Disease because it causes exhaustion, and I was still teaching and coaching full time.  He did not know that I was so tired that I did not think that I could make it through the day most days.  I am not sure why I had not told him this.

I have suffered from pernicious anemia since I was 18 years old.  Anemia can add to the severity of COPD because it is the red blood cells that carry oxygen in the body.  I also have iron deficiency anemia.

I still do not understand the stigma and in fact I do not accept it.  I did absolutely nothing illegal even though I may have known than smoking was not good for my health.  When I started smoking doctors smoked in the hospital room unless there was oxygen in use.  Why would I think that it was a huge detriment to my health?

I also lived for 13 years where in the neighboring town the streetlights came on at noon some days because of the heavy pollution caused from the steel mills.  I also remember having to wear sunglasses downtown because the soot got in my eyes and cause my contact lenses to go crazy.  The paint on cars that were parked downtown became pitted and turned this strange yellow green color.

One of my friends was amazed when we took her to meet our family in the central part of the state.  Sandy did not know that roofs could be different colors.  They were all black where she lived, so I was subjected to some major pollution for 13 years.

To say that you have COPD because you smoked is making a complex disease seem to be simple and puts the blame on the patient. Smoking is not the only cause of COPD.

We need funding not chastisement when it comes to the fight against COPD.