Naomi Fitzakerley, 48, spent years trying to get answers about why she was always so out of breath, had a constant cough and suffered regular chest infections.
While the mother-of-three was a smoker – she says she took up the habit aged 16 to cope with a tough childhood – she always thought there was something more behind her worsening health issues.
Being a smoker is one of the biggest risk factors for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) but Fitzakerley was never tested for it, despite multiple trips to the doctor.
One GP even told her her symptoms were 'all in her head'.
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COPD takes the lives of more than 7000 Australians every year, making it the nation's fifth leading cause of death.
"Nobody bothered looking further," Fitzakerley said.
But two years ago – and just after she gave up smoking – she was finally tested for COPD by a respiratory specialist and told that's what was wrong.
She was so badly affected by then she struggled to even blow into the spirometry test to see how her lungs were working.
The condition is the number one cause of avoidable hospitalisations in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
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Doctors brushed off symptoms
As well as being a smoker, Fitzakerley had other risk factors for the disease, which has symptoms including being short of breath and a constant cough with mucus or phlegm.
She was born prematurely with a hole in her heart, suffered multiple lung issues as a child, and started smoking at a young age – all warning signs.
She said her health gradually started getting worse before she had her third daughter, now 11.
"When I was pregnant I was finding it so hard to breathe, and the coughing fits… I just wouldn't be able to stop," she told nine.com.au.
"A couple of years ago it had got to ridiculous stages where I'd had six lung infections within the year."
Fitzakerley said she was "shattered" to get the diagnosis, because she's still a relatively young working mother.
She previously worked in community health with patients who were in the later stages of COPD.
"I had visions of my clients and they were all on oxygen," she said.
And while she's upset she'll never get to fulfil her bucket list dream of scuba diving because she's not allowed, she's finally on medication which has improved her breathing.
Other treatments for the disease include pulmonary rehab involving exercise and education on managing breathing.
Stopping smoking is key.
Fitzakerley said she just wants to stay well enough to spend time with daughters Christine, 27, Chanel, 24, and Cate, 11.
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She's now backing a call by Lung Foundation Australiato improve diagnosis and treatment for Aussies with the condition and push for research to help prevent it,
"We need services catered to people that are going to have to live with it for a very long time but also raise families and still work," Fitzakerley, said.
"With research we can find better treatments, so I can work for the next 30 years and that I can be there for all of my daughters' milestones."
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Not just a smoker's disease
While the main risk factor is smoking – lifelong smokers have a 50 per cent probability of getting COPD, a quarter of sufferers over 45 have never smoked.
It affects one in seven Aussies over 40.
There's no cure, but it can be successfully managed.
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Christine Jenkins, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UNSW and The George Institute for Global Health is backing Lung Foundation Australia's call for action.
She said the condition is often diagnosed late, and the stigma faced by smokers, or ex-smokers like Fitzakerley is common, she said.
"COPD is a very common disease. It can affect anybody," Professor Jenkins said.
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She said early exposure to toxins such as cigarette smoke or air pollution - even in the womb – can cause people to develop it later in life.
Other risk factors include working in industrial or farming jobs.
And while COPD can be terminal, many patients can live for many years if it is managed.
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Lung Foundation Australia's Blueprint for COPD demands more government action on prevention, early risk identification and diagnosis, plus management of the condition.
The Australian Government told nine.com.au it's investing in raising awareness and treatment of chronic conditions such as COPD.
"This investment is guided by the priorities identified in the National Strategic Action Plan for Lung Conditions (Action Plan) with funding of $4 million (2019/20 -2023/24)," a spokesman, said.
That includes money for improving awareness and understanding of lung conditions; the development and delivery of education and training resources for health professionals to improve the diagnosis, management and care of people with lung conditions; and supporting the delivery of best-practice training to primary health care practitioners, the government, said.
It said it has invested $229 million in respiratory disease research, including more than $2 million for COPD.
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Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain: ss****@******om.au
