Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week on TALK! with AUDREY: I have a conversation Olympic Gold Medalist and DRIVE4COPD Celebrity Ambassador.
Bruce Jenner earned his place among the world’s greatest athletes after breaking Olympic records and bringing America home the gold medal for decathlon in 1976. In his extensive career, Bruce has served as a commercial spokesperson, acclaimed sports commentator, entrepreneur, author and producer.
Recently, Bruce has opened up about his personal life on a reality television series. Until now, however, Bruce and his wife Kris have not shared their family’s personal battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Kris lost both her grandparents to emphysema, a form of COPD. Bruce remembers the tremendous toll the debilitating disease took on his loved ones and the strain it placed on his tight-knit family. Now, he is dedicated to spreading the word about COPD.
COPD is a serious lung disease that makes it harder and harder to breathe. While it can’t be cured, it can be managed and treated, so it’s important to find out if you have COPD. With the right diagnosis and treatment, you can take steps that could help you manage your COPD and breathe better.
With COPD, your lungs do not work as well as they once did. So you find it more and more difficult to breathe. As the disease progresses, your symptoms tend to get worse and more damage occurs in the lungs. This damage is permanent. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are COPD.
When you talk about chronic bronchitis or emphysema, it’s important to realize that you are really talking about COPD. With COPD, you can have one or both of these conditions. Most patients have both.