Board of Directors
Richard Casaburi Ph.D., M.D., President      Alvin Grancell, Vice President      Mary Burns, R.N., Exec. Vice President
Jeanne Rife, Secretary          Jean Hughes, Treasurer
Brian L. Tiep, M.D.      Thomas L. Petty, M.D.      Alvin Hughes      Craig Murga
Barbara Borak      Peter D. Pettler, Esq

     Dear Friends,

     It is a privilege and honor to be the PERF board member to request your annual donation to support our work. As PERF gains momentum and takes on more challenges, we need more support - your support.

     PERF is a private, not for profit corporation with ambitious goals aimed at reducing the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Please consider the following points:

• COPD is now the fourth most common cause of death in the USA;
• COPD is the only disease in the top 10 killers that continues to rise in prevalence and mortality;
• More women than men died of COPD in 2000;
• 120,000 people will die of COPD in the United States in 2003;
• COPD and related lung cancer will kill 280,000 people in the USA in 2003;
• Although there are 16 million Americans with diagnosed COPD, an equal number are undiagnosed and are receiving no treatment;
• Research supported by PERF has resulted in four major publications and nine abstracts in 2002. This research will help patients with COPD;
• PERF is the main driving force in the establishment of the Alvin Grancell/Mary Burns Chair in Rehabilitation Research at the Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute in the UCLA system. Rich Casaburi is the current holder of this developing chair.
• PERF is a good investment in the future of COPD identification and treatment.

     Please renew, increase or double your annual contribution. We have extremely low overhead compared with larger national organizations that are involved in lung health care education.

     Give to PERF instead of the high overhead national organizations that have not and will not be able to make the impact that PERF can in combatting COPD.

     November has been designated as COPD Awareness Month by the President. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. So now is the time for you to help. Be generous with your donation. Be optimistic about the future.

          Sincerely yours,

       Thomas L. Petty, MD
for the PERF Board of Directors`