A Falmouth woman with a lung disease with an average three year life expectancy has joined an international fight for better recognition for her condition.

Ann Bennett, aged 73, lives with her husband Peter who has severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and was herself diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) - a progressive lung disease which affects around 15,000 people in the UK in June 2014.

The condition leaves people struggling to breath, and the average life expectancy from time of diagnosis is around three years. To help raise awareness of the disease, and help educate and empower other sufferers, Ann and her family - daughter Heather, and two granddaughters, Rosie, 16, and Eithne, 10 - have taken part in a global awareness campaign, Fight IPF.

Following a declaration adopted by the European Parliament last week urging member states to improve the care of those living with IPF, the Fight IPF campaign was launched during IPF World Week.

As part of the campaign the children and grandchildren of people with IPF came together to sing Rachel Platten’s hit Fight Song, accompanied by pianist Myleene Klass, to urge their parents and grandparents to continue to stand up to IPF by learning more about their disease and make more informed decisions.

Ann, a keen campaigner for IPF awareness, said: "You must never give up. You must live life every day to the fullest that you can; life is for living. When my doctor told me that I was stood at the top of a slippery slope, I knew I had to grab life with both hands and fight, and I would urge others to do the same – find out as much as you can, as soon as you can, and take action.”

In most cases, IPF is eventually fatal, due to respiratory failure, however earlier diagnosis, patient support and information, and learning how to manage the condition can help symptoms as well as slow down the progression of the disease.

Biotech company Roche has launched fight IPF to empower the 15,000 people in the UK and 110,000 people in Europe living with IPF, and their families, to stand up to the disease. During IPF World Week, from September 17 to 25, the copany launched fightipf.co.uk, a new online hub designed to inform and empower patients diagnosed with IPF and their family members.

Carlos Lines Millán, president of the European Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Related Disorders Federation said: "Knowledge, it is said, is power - but it is only through initiatives like this that accurate information can reach people with IPF and their carers. This knowledge can empower people living with IPF to fight for the care, support and access to treatments that they need and deserve."