Lungs Matter: Breathe Hope Against Lung Diseases

Medical societies and patient-leaders unite for respiratory disease awareness campaign.

August is National Lung Month. 

To celebrate, frontrunners in the Philippine healthcare industry join together to increase public education on various lung diseases.  Spearheaded the Lungs Matter: Raising Awareness for Respiratory Wellness event are the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations,  Psoriasis Philippines,  Philippine Society for Orphan Disorders, Scleroderma Awareness Philippines, and Philippine College of Chest Physicians, supported by pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (Philippines), Inc.

Lungs Matter:  Raising Awareness for Respiratory Wellness was held at The Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros Manila and was attended by esteemed healthcare experts who shared fruitful insights on popular and lesser-known respiratory diseases,  and the basics of lung care.

Dr. Mae Campomanes, Chair for the Council on Occupational and Interstitial Lung Diseases, PCCP.

"This National Lung Month is a good opportunity for us to focus the public's attention on respiratory wellness, spread more awareness on the different kinds of lung disease, and call on a collective movement to support healthier air," said Dr. Mae Campomanes, Chair for the Council on Occupational and Interstitial Lung Diseases, PCCP.

Attendees doing the Shibashi

Healthcare leaders during the Motivational Walk in Arroceros Forest Park

The "Lungs Matter: Raising Awareness for Respiratory Wellness" event took guests on various forum talks, pocket activities, and wellness exercises, such as Breathwork Practices and Shibashi - an 18-posture exercise that coordinates movement with breathing and concentration. It was then followed by a meditational walk in the historic Arroceros Forest Park. Known as "Manila's last lung", the Arroceros Forest Park was a catalyst for a better and healthier environment to foster lung health. The walk was done in solidarity with all partners to focus the public's attention on respiratory wellness and to encourage participants to make a personal pledge to support lung health.

Leading the fight against lung diseases

In 2022, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 300,000 cases of acute respiratory infection over six months. Among the most common lung diseases known to Filipinos are asthma, a disease of the airways in the lungs caused by inflammation; pneumonia, which happens when fluids build up in the lungs; tuberculosis (TB), a contagious disease caused by germs; and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammation that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Other rare lung diseases that are equally important, but which are difficult to diagnose are interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is a group of disorders that cause progressive scarring of lung tissue.

Host Jing Castaneda with the Panelists

"There's a wide range of topics for us to touch on regarding respiratory wellness. We at Boehringer Ingelheim, are committed to supporting our health organizations and medical societies to further increase disease education. We want to help push prevention and early diagnosis at the forefront so we can safeguard the health of many Filipinos," said Dr. Greta Cortez, Head of Medicine for Boehringer Ingelheim (Philippines), Inc.

Through the "Lungs Matter: Raising Awareness for Respiratory Wellness" event, advocates champion the patients' quality of life by putting importance on prevention and early detection. This educational discussion, in honor of National Lung Month, aims to inform the public about the predispositions and risks associated with common to life-threatening respiratory diseases.