Biking to breathe

Brenda Cunningham has been on oxygen support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the past decade.

Diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 1981 at age 31, Cunningham and partner Bruce Eyre have embarked on a cross-province motorcycle awareness journey that on Thursday brought the duo to Thunder Bay.

She said far too many people with the disease, also known as emphysema, go undiagnosed, lowering their quality of life and often leading to premature death.

She would know.

Her father and aunt died from it, and her 31-year-old son has learned he suffers from lung disease as well, though not COPD.

It’s a personal investment, she said, explaining why she and Eyre took on the Lungevity 2012 tour.

“Also I know the damage it does to your mental attitude when you develop this disease,” said Cunnngham, who immediately switched to liquid oxygen Thursday upon arrival at a media event showcasing their tour. “It makes you feel less than whole, because it takes away all the big things you can do and all the little things.

“COPD makes it so hard to breathe. You feel like your chest is full all the time. Sometimes I literally have to gasp, just to get from one breath to another. Awareness has to be raised for this disease.”

Cunningham and Eyre, who hail from Sudbury, said the idea for the tour hatched at an Ontario Lung Association meeting, when they mentioned they were planning to travel around the province on their Yamaha Venture motorcycle.

“One of them said, ‘If you would stop here, and you would stop there, and you would stop here, we might be able to help you with that.’ And what better benefit can you have than raising awareness for lung disease and getting to ride with Bruce on the motorcycle.”

Cunningham admitted the disease often comes with a stigma attached, as it primarily affects smokers past and present.

People’s lifestyle choices aside, she said the important thing is for sufferers to be properly diagnosed as early as possible, as it can be treated and managed.

“People are afraid to ask their doctors, or take the information to their doctors. They’re afraid of what they’re going to hear … Many people think we bring this on to ourselves, because of the lifestyle we chose. Well, I disagree. There was no choice for this. It just comes.”

For 73-year-old Eyre a retired police officer diagnosed with COPD just three years ago, the tour – in its third stop – is well worth the 32 days they plan to spend on the road.

“We can get the word out to the general population that there’s a lot to be done. We want them to get their spirometry tests at age 40 or younger, anytime they can get it, if they’re having trouble with their breathing. See your doctor,” he said.

Elizabeth Harvey, the manager of government relations and public affairs for the Ontario Lung Association, said it’s heartbreaking that not many people know much about the disease.

“The reality is COPD is one of the most expensive chronic diseases in the province of Ontario. It has the highest hospitalization rate, the longest hospitalization rate, and there are already 780,000 people who have been diagnosed with COPD in Ontario, but expert estimate that twice as many may have COPD and not be aware of it.”

For more about the tour, visit http://www.on.lung.ca/lungevity