Breathe Easy Isle of Man will have an awareness stand to show residents how they can support people affected by lung disease.
The event takes place in Shoprite, at Victoria Road in Douglas, on Thursday, June 19, from 10am to 4pm.
Viv Osland, from Breathe Easy Isle of Man, said:’Our group is here for anyone on the island living with a lung disease, their friends, family members or carers.
‘Everyone is welcome to come and share advice, support, friendship and experiences with other people who are in a similar position.
‘It is also an opportunity to find out about the fantastic work that the British Lung Foundation does across the country.’
This year’s Breathe Easy Week, which is UK-wide and runs from June 16 to 22, has a theme of ‘breathlessness and early diagnosis’. Many people may consider breathlessness as a sign of getting old or being unfit yet it is one of the most common symptoms of lung disease.
Early diagnosis can improve quality of life and care for patients, so people are being encouraged to visit their GP if they are feeling breathless in situations where they would not expect to be, such as during non-strenuous exercise.
A recent UK Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patient survey, conducted by GlaxoSmithKline, found that nearly half of patients felt that being breathless affected their confidence and that more than a third felt it impacted negatively on their family lives.
Mike McKevitt, head of patient services at the British Lung Foundation, said: ‘Groups like this represent an invaluable pillar of support, providing not only compassion and understanding, but advice and encouragement that can really help improve health and quality of life.’
Breathe Easy provides free support and advice for anybody affected by any lung condition - from lung cancer and COPD to rarer conditions, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and mesothelioma.
Breathe Easy Isle of Man meets at the Manx Blind Welfare at Corrin Court, Heywood Avenue, Onchan on the third Thursday of each month at 2pm. Contact Viv on 855008 for more information.