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Quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of developing COPD and slow the progress of the disease.
Your doctor will recommend treatments that help relieve your symptoms and help you breathe easier. However, COPD cannot be cured.
The goals of COPD treatment are to:
- Relieve your symptoms with no or minimal side effects of treatment
- Slow the progress of the disease
- Improve exercise tolerance (your ability to stay active)
- Prevent and treat complications and sudden onset of problems
- Improve your overall health.
The treatment for COPD is different for each person. Your family doctor may recommend that you see a lung specialist called a pulmonologist (pull-mon-OL-o-gist).
Treatment is based on whether your symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe.
Medications and pulmonary rehabilitation are often used to help relieve your symptoms and to help you breathe more easily and stay active.
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