Mr Goodluck has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

COPD is an umbrella term for lung disease that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma that is not fully reversible.

One in seven Australians 40 years or older has COPD and hundreds of thousands of cases go undetected.

November is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease month and World COPD Day is on November 19.

Mr Goodluck, 56, was diagnosed with COPD five years ago.

He was told the only way to increase his quality of life is with a lung transplant.

A former interstate truck driver, he had to leave work about two years ago due to the disease.

Mr Goodluck was a smoker for 30 years and averaged about 60 cigarettes a day.

He quit in June 2010 but four months later suffered a major asthma attack while at a roadhouse in Hay.

"It was so bad I rang my wife to say goodbye," he said.

"Doctors said if I hadn't quit smoking that June, I would've died."

Mr Goodluck was diagnosed with COPD shortly after.

He has only 16 per cent lung function and is out of breath doing the simplest things like walking around the house.

"Most people don't think about their breathing," he said.

"I have to think about every breath I take."

"If you take a really deep breath, hold it for as long as you can, let a tiny bit out and breathe it in again, that's what it feels like."

He uses medication to assist with his breathing and a continuous positive airway pressure device during the night to help with his sleep apnoea, a common accompaniment to COPD.

Mr Goodluck's wife Carol is his full-time carer and a pillar of support.

"I'm lucky, I've have an outstanding wife who looks after me," he said.

St Arnaud's Margaret Banks, 54, is another COPD sufferer.

She has had the disease for 12 years and is on home oxygen, steroids and is also under assessment for a lung transplant.

Mr Goodluck and Ms Banks encouraged everyone to quit smoking, as it is one of the leading causes for COPD.

Ms Banks recommended anyone short of breath go to the doctor to get checked.

"Everything changes once you lose your independence," she said.

Wimmera Health Care Group's respiratory nurse educator Heather Macdonald said the Grampians region had the highest number of people in Australia with lung disease.

"Despite that, community awareness about the diagnosis and treatment of COPD remains poor," she said. Typical COPD symptoms include breathlessness, a cough that won't go away and phlegm production.

Ms Macdonald said COPD was preventable and treatable but early diagnosis was the key.

"Finding COPD early gives the best chance to slow down lung deterioration and start managing your symptoms," she said.

She said one of the most effective interventions to help reduce symptoms of COPD was pulmonary rehabilitation, a program of education and exercise that taught people how to breathe easier with activity.

Wimmera Health Care Group'sCommunity Rehabilitation Centre co-ordinates a pulmonary rehabilitation program.

The program has respiratory nurse educators and allied health staff to provide assessment and education to those with Asthma and COPD.

Ms Macdonald said people could call Wimmera Health Care Group on 5381 9333, the Lung Foundation Australia on 1800 654 301 or visit lungfoundation.com.au for more information.