Imagine there wasn’t one but 16 LCI Rail stadiums. Each packed, with all 7,066 seats filled with people excited for a match.
That’s how many people are dying from lung disease in the UK every year.
The 115,000 lives it takes, makes it one of our three biggest killers, alongside heart conditions and cancers.
There’s still much the British Lung Foundation, and all who support us, need to do to reverse this statistic.
One of the big problems is that people are often diagnosed late.
When we look at lung cancer, we see that over a third of the diagnoses are made in emergency care when their condition is considerably advanced.
We know all too well how heart breaking this is for those diagnosed and their friends and families.
We hear evidence and personal stories every day of frequent misdiagnosis by doctors, misinformation and stigma. Many believe that all people with a lung condition are older, ex-smokers and less active.
There’s also low awareness of symptoms and huge differencesin the quality of care people receive depending on where they live in the UK. There is so
much we need to tackle.
That’s why we’ve launched a campaign for a Taskforce for lung health.
To ensure we can help people like Vicky get an early diagnosis and to ensure we give people good care no matter what their postcode is.
The BLF have been at the forefront of many positive changes for our lung health, including a ban on smoking in cars with children and pushing local authorities to clean up the air pollution damaging our lungs.
The Taskforce is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious policies we’ve tried to introduce.
It’s a national plan that will tackle everything from prevention, early diagnosis, disease management, care and quality of life for those living with lung disease and the people at risk of developing it.
In 2015, Taskforces for both cancer and mental health were established to transform outcomes of people in these areas.
You can join the campaign here to let the government and NHS England know that the 12 million people with a lung condition deserve the same.
Every penny raised from texting CTFC17 £3 to 70070 to donate £3 will also go towards helping us fund our campaigns, research work into new treatments and cures, and supporting people through our helpline.
We hope over the next week, the BLF together with the Cheltenham Town community can really make an impact.
After all, it is communities coming together in a show of support and solidarity, whether it be running marathons or turning blue, that lets us fight back against awful diseases.