TV host Ty Pennington has teamed up with Insmed to promote “The Suspect BE” initiative, focused on educating the public about bronchiectasis symptoms.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Awareness Initiative: Insmed and Ty Pennington have launched Suspect BE to educate the public on the importance of identifying bronchiectasis, a chronic condition where damaged airways make it difficult to clear mucus and bacteria.
- Overlapping Symptoms: The campaign highlights that symptoms such as chronic cough and recurrent lung infections often overlap with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, frequently leading to years of diagnostic delay.
- Diagnostic Advocacy: The initiative urges individuals with persistent symptoms to consult a pulmonologist about advanced diagnostic tools, including computed tomography (CT) scans, to ensure an accurate diagnosis.
Insmed Inc has partnered with TV host Ty Pennington to launch “Suspect Bronchiectasis (Suspect BE),” an educational initiative aimed at increasing awareness and proper diagnosis of bronchiectasis. The initiative encourages patients with unresolved respiratory symptoms to seek further testing to rule out or confirm the chronic lung disease.
Pennington — a two-time primetime Emmy-winning host of shows like Trading Spaces (2000–2003) and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2003–2012) — is sharing his personal experience as a caregiver for his mother, who lived with unresolved respiratory symptoms for more than 40 years before being diagnosed with bronchiectasis. He uses his expertise in home improvement to draw a parallel between inspecting a house and investigating health.
“When I begin a renovation, I start by scanning the home – the foundation, the walls, and the attic – because looking deeper can give you a full picture. I believe the same is true with your health – taking a closer look could help with getting the answers you need,” said Pennington, tv host, designer, and carpenter, in a news release.
Bronchiectasis is characterized by widened and damaged airways, which can lead to progressive lung damage if left untreated. While approximately 500,000 people in the US are currently diagnosed, Insmed reports that millions more may be living with the disease without a formal diagnosis.
The overlap of symptoms with other respiratory conditions is a primary factor in delayed identification. Symptoms like excess mucus and recurring lung infections are common in both bronchiectasis and other diseases like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“Because bronchiectasis symptoms, like a chronic cough, recurring infections, or excess mucus, can look a lot like other lung conditions, it often takes years to get the right diagnosis, reinforcing the need for greater awareness and earlier identification, which Suspect BE is designed to help address,” said Martina Flammer, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Insmed, in a news release.
The Suspect BE initiative provides resources to help patients have more productive conversations with healthcare providers. It specifically recommends that those with persistent symptoms ask their doctors if a computed tomography (CT) scan is a necessary step for diagnosis.
