Lungnet

Be an active participant in your care

Everybody desires a good quality of life. Having a lung condition makes you no different.

You should not suffer alone in silence. By learning more about your condition, knowing how to manage and adapt to it, and benefiting from the knowledge and experiences of others, you are becoming an active participant in your own care

Your visits to the doctor may even become more informative and less confusing if you understand your lung condition, and actively participate in your own care.

What is Patient Support?

Support is something we all need during certain stages of our lives, to cope with difficult situations.

Lung disease can be a stressful life event. Apart from the physical symptoms, you may feel depressed, anxious, worried, irritable, isolated and confused.

Patient support is all about helping you to manage and control your symptoms, overcome these feelings and feel confident and happy again. Patient support can help you and your carer find enjoyment in a renewed quality of life through information, friendship, encouragement and shared experiences.

Patient support is not just for patients. It is for families and carers who often need support as well. They also feel stress and concerns about what is happening and need the opportunity to learn and to meet with others to share experiences.

What is a Patient Support Group?

A patient support group is a collective of people with common interests and needs; in this case, people with a lung condition and their carers/family. Anyone can be a member. Some groups are for people with all types of lung conditions, while others are for people with specific needs or illness.

What do Patient Support Groups do?

When you join a patient support group the types of activities you can expect to benefit from are:

• regular meetings
• special guest speakers giving you regular access to expert information on your
• lung condition and other relevant issues
• member to member support (through telephone calls, hospital and home visits)
• receiving and distributing lung health education information
• special seminars and patient programs
• social outings
• rehabilitation assistance
• a group newsletter and national newsletter
• social enjoyment, entertainment and good cheer

How can a Patient Support Group benefit you?

Joining a patient support group can help you:

• reinforce the information you have learnt from your doctor and other healthcare advisers. Sometimes the information is difficult to remember or is confusing
• access new information on your lung condition
• share your experiences in a caring environment
• participate in pleasurable social activities
• change the way you think about your disease
• help your carer to understand your condition

Have you ever experienced the satisfaction of helping someone else in distress? Sometimes, focusing our energy on helping others is the best therapy for overcoming our troubled feelings.

There are patients who need your support and friendship as well.

The people you will meet

You will meet ordinary people, from all different working and ethnic backgrounds. They will share with you a common personal interest in managing their lung disease, whether they are a patient or a carer.

Group members will also have a wide variety of social and lifestyle interests.

Where and when do Patient Support Groups meet?

Most groups have regular meetings which are often held at a community or neighbourhood centre, or a meeting room at a local hospital. Venues with reasonable transport access are normally chosen

How much does it cost?

Membership of a patient support group normally involves a small annual fee and perhaps a gold coin at meetings to cover the costs of "membership services", such as postage, photocopying and meetings. These fees are always kept to an absolute minimum.

How do you join?

You simply have to decide which group to join. To find out about the groups in your area telephone 1800 654 301

What if there is no group in your area?

Support is still available, even if you live in a rural or remote area, or if your town or suburb does not yet have a patient support group. You can keep in touch through telephone communication with "foster friends" in other towns and States and be kept informed by regular newsletters.

Content updated March 10, 2008