:rolleyes: Mother always said "If I don't talk about it or think about it it won't happen"...She always said your a nerd if you don't smoke and unfornately my brother listened too well and still hasn't quit smoking yet...My sister Linda quit at almost the same time as my mother...which was right after she had been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer...they both took the drug Wellbutrin and within 40 days had both quit smoking...I also had smoked but not more than a pack or 2 a week so I was able to quit without much withdrawal,...Both of my parents smoked when we were kids and the second hand smoke was pretty thick especially on vacation is a small car and no air conditioning...Mom always said she smoked menthol because it helped her bronchitis like a breathing treatment???In the end she smoked Marlboro Lights 100's in the box at the rate of 2 and 1/2 packs a day...I still can't figrue wout how anyone under the age of 30 can smoke, when all the data says it KILL YOU!!!at the very least some lung damage will occur and breathing will be compromised...I work at a hospital and it amazes me that nurses and therapists smoke even after seeing the results. :nono: Some of the nurses are my friends and I can hardly resist the urge to say "YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF, STOP!!!"...i know it's hard to stop but all efforts must be made until smoking has stopped...THANK YOU

I can understand what you are saying...I have a friend and neighbors
who still smoke even after my husband was diagnosed with SCLC in June 05. The way they look at is that...he did not even smoke and got lung cancer. (keep in mind no one in my husband's family never smoked so they are saying genetic since they believe his grandmother died at 52 from what they thought was liver cancer, but now think otherwise.
But, I also like to drink Diet Pepsi (which is a form of addiction too, like smoking) and gave it up before my husband was diagnosed, but started treating myself to one once in a while which became everyday. Now it is very hard to give it up because my husband became diabetic from the cancer and treatments so now he has to drink sugar free juices and soda. We don't keep much soda in the house if any at all, but at times we do have it.
I know it is hard to convince someone to quit smoking and I keep telling my friend to please stop, but as of now it is not working.
My friend told me about a funeral she went to which was very sad...a man and his wife both smoked, the wife had passed away from lung cancer, but then his daughter was diagnosed (she had never smoked) with lung cancer. She had lung cancer they say from second hand smoke...anyway, her dad showed up to the church smoking and as quick as he could get out when the service finished he was outside smoking once again.
It amazes me your mom said you were a nerd if you never smoked...never heard of a mother saying that! How sad...sorry, but happy to hear you have turned your life around and quit smoking! I can honestly say at 43 I have never tried a cigarette so I cannot completely relate to people who do smoke, other than I do know addictions are hard to give up.
Keep being an advocate on trying to get people not to smoke.
Kim

The problem with being around smokers 24/7 is that you smoke when they smoke...so even though the daughter never smoked herself, her parents did for her and probably both at the same time...That reminds me of a neighbor of mine in california...he was diagnosed with throat cancer and was lucky enough to keep wome of his voice...He would come to our house and light up even though he told his wife he had stopped...like she couldn't smell it on him...My fathe was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and went through radiation and chemo...so far so good...no cancer has been detected and he is just starting to eat solids on a regular basis...he had qui the first time for 10 years and then started again....the about 10 years ago he not only stopped smoking but stopped drinking as well...he just stopped one day and never smoked or drank again...this made it very hard for mother to make any real progress to stop smoking...until the wellbutrin she had made a few attempts with the patch and cold turkey and even hypnosis but in the end it was a diagnosis of cancer that really made her quit...Thank you

:confused: From the lack of response I guess my views on smoking ar not very popular...too many of my family have suffered the effects of cigarette smoking...lung cancer my mother,emphysema my grand father and father...throat cancer my great uncle and uncle...my other uncle had pancreas and liver cancer and I know he smoked and drank quite a bit also...too many celebrities have died from lung cancer or complications from smoking...I guess I'll never understand... :confused:

Yes a lot of us smokers know all of this stuff about how bad it is for us. I have quit a few times, and while I was a non-smoker it disgusted me to think of even being around it. Its definitely a mindset. Like losing weight, getting off drugs, or any other addiction. You have to have the mindset to want to. Nothing anyone else says is something we dont already know. Unfortunately, we have to learn the hard way. I dont know, maybe because all smokers dont get cancer, and all cancer victims didnt smoke or even around it and its not immediate... Even those who have quit for 20 years, can wind up with it later.. We know all the facts, and inhaling smoke and chemicals into our bodies is very bad for us but we just ignore them...The crazy thing about it is that me, like most smokers use it as a crutch to "relax" when in fact it does the exact opposite by speeding up your adrenalin.. But... as a smoker I agree it is very stupid and dangerous as well as expensive, but with out the WILL there is no way... . Its like a dieter who says I will start my diet on Monday.... not thinking of the long term effects. I keep saying, next week I will quit...but havent yet. I have all intentions on it, but its not easy. I guess this is our release that unfortunately causes emphysema and other fatal diseases.

I do know that society has changed alot over the years where it is getting less and less acceptable which I think is great. I know personally, it has curbed me where I didnt think I could ever go to dinner, etc. without a cigarette, but I obviously can and do without a problem. I know many people who have quit for a number of years that still urge a cigarette and have to fight it... Like the lady with the diet pepsi... these products have additives to make them addictive... and a person cannot quit unless they want to and realize that we are SLAVES to these cancer sticks and need to get up the strength to just STOP THE INSANITY before its too late. I do know that I had been able to quit when things were going better in my life, and I felt better about myself. A smokers perspective.

Hello all, I, as a former smoker diagnosed with SCLC in April 2005, can honestly say I thought it would be such a difficult habit to give up. Even with my diagnosis and being told I would die if I didn't quit, it took a while before I kicked the habit. I kept telling myself it was as if I had a death wish. One day I decided I could do it, got some nicotine lozenges, and never looked back. It was not that hard to do. Today I am still mad at myself that I was such a tortured soul for 35 years, thinking I couldn't give up my 'best friend,' my pack of smokes. Every smoker hears how hard it is to quit and it is not. It just takes that decision that you can do it and it is easy from that point on. I hope all the smokers reading this get some strength that they can quit. Give them up and come here when you need encouragement. I am still in remission since last July, with a disease that gives a 5% survival rate. So never give up and tell yourself you can make it. Love from Ky., Pat

Thank you for your reply...your right that not all that not all smokers get lung cancer and not all lung cancer is from smoking...but why give more money to the tobacco companies and make them richer...Even though it didn't really make much difference when my mother quit after getting lung ca...at least she stopped paying to DIE$...I'm glad my sister quit when she did...at least one of her risk factors has been eliminated...anything can be addictive if it's done to excess...however no one ever got secondhand overweight just by being around an overeater...and although bad eating habits can be passed down...children aren't inhaling any secondhand eating and getting allergies or asthma...I hope that more people get the message that $moking is not only exp$ensive and $tupid but deadly as well...signing off...thanks

I lost my Grandmother, Father and Mother to lung cancer from smoking. After losing her mother and her husband to lung cancer my mom never quit. 10 years after husband died she was diagnosed, she smoked in the hospitol while getting chemo. Of course then you hear that the tabbaco companies had added chemicals to cigs to make them even more addictive. I sat next to a cancer surgeon on a flight from Dallas to L.A, we talked alot about cancer, he told me that since the U.S had limited the amount of advertising that tabbaco companies could use, they have moved their operations more towards Asia, where the limits are alot less strindgent. I have lost so much to smokeing and cancer, people cannot understand my hate for cig smoke, however they have not lived with the pain of losing two parents one at 57 one at 62 and a Grandmother at 68. I pray for death to the tabbaco companies, its not a matter anymore of if you will die from cancer its a matter of when. My father weighted 200 lbs all of his life, he was diagnosed and died 8 months later at about 118 lbs. It is a Holocaust that can be prevented. Smokers if you get by me with your second hand smoke you will hear about it.

My mom, who found out she has lung cancer 4 months ago, just had her final round of chemo and will be going for a scan to find out if it did any good or not. She lost all of her hair, some days can hardly walk, has had 1 blood transfussion, spent time in the hospital due to falling (she fell 2 times that I know of but I'm sure there's more), she has had to move in to my house so someone can assist her and yet still she smokes...the frustration just about does me in. I've put my life and my children's lives on hold and have to make up all my hours at work when I take time off to get her to her appointments, never mind all the worrying and watching the suffering without being able to do anything about it, all because of smoking. When the doctor told her she had lung cancer she asked him if she should quit - his response was 'it won't make any difference if you do or not' - I was shocked but then she's smoked steady for over 50 years so perhaps it wouldn't make a difference at this point, but now she says that if he had told her to quit she would have. She's 71 and looks like she's closer to 90, can't climb more than 6 stairs without gasping for air, can't eat without feeling sick, and yet still she smokes. On top of that my 24 year old son, who is seeing this all unfold, still smokes - I'd like to knock some sense into them, but they live in denial like most smokers (I was one too but quit 19 years ago and it's the best thing I ever did for myself). When my dad was in the hospital last year (he passed away from an unrelated illness and hadn't smoked for years), the doctors would listen to his chest and ask how much he smoked. Everyone has to suffer in some way as the smoker painfully kills themselves. In Ontario now there is no smoking pretty much anywhere public, one small step in the right direction. Thanks for letting me vent :mad:

Thought I would say a few things about smoking. Yes you can get lung cancer without smoking but why tempt fate like that?

Smoking causes so many other health issues and it also affects us non smokers so when Santa Barbara banned smoking in restuarants and many public places and the smokers cried "it is not fair" I wanted to smack them as is it fair for me to have to breathe in their smoke filled air and risk my own health...NO! If they want to lock themselves in an airtight room and smoke their brains out it is their choice but to expect us non smokers to deal with the smoke is very selfish of them.

Yes the companies put things that make them more addictive as do food companies put such things in the food we eat so we over eat. Everything is about money not our health.

Seventeen years ago when I spent time in Sumatra I went on a jungle hike with a bunch of the local people. The boys all smoked as it is a very cultural thing there and at that time it was rude to refuse a cigarette if offered one. They had never heard that smoking is bad for you so when I told them they all laughed at that, then I told them they were addicted to the cigarettes and they all thought that was crazy so I made a bet with them and collected their cigarettes and bet them by days end they would be begging for them, and would be willing to do just about anything to get them back. Once again they alll laughed..well by late afternoon they were pleading with me "Just one smoke? Please!?" They begged all evening. They were going crazy as the need to smoke was so great but they all realized what I had told them was true they were addicted to the cigarettes. To me it is very sad to see people smoke and not even be told they may be harming themselves and to see the big American companies pushing hard at them to smoke to make up for what they have lost in the American market.

I guess I should not complain about smokers as because people still smoke I have a VERY secure job! Without smokers my job would not be so secure, so thank you to those that continue to smoke knowing the health risks as it does keep the hospitals full and provide jobs for many people. JanMarie

I certainly didnt feel it "wasn't fair" for smokers not to be permitted to smoke in public. I do have respect for others, and most people I know who smoke do as well.. Unfortunately there are always people like that though... Which is why it doesnt make sense to alot a people "why would you want to tempt fate like that"... I guess I just dont have respect for myself.. Just like any addict drugs, alcoholics, eating disorders, there is something physical as well as psychological and we all need help. Its harder for some than others.. But I am glad that we at least keep you secure in your job.

There is nothing left on this earth that does NOT cause cancer. I drink alcohol but my drinking does not affect the health of someone else unless I abuse it. Cigarette smoke intrudes on another's space whether it is being abused or not. That group might be comprised of a couple of people that only smoke once or twice a day...and to include someone who smokes 2-3 packs a day. My hubby was one of the later. He quit hoping to avoid LC. It still found him. I myself could never really smoke as I ended up getting a sore throat from hell and my ex husband was not worth it. Soooo.....I know that no one will quit unless they want to. The want to may be something that comes along after they have to. My hubby quit cold turkey after 35+ yrs of 2-3 pks a day. He blames himself. I know of others that smoke that much and are the living picture of health at 70-80+ yrs. It's like playing Russian Roulette. You never know when that bullet is in the chamber when you pull the trigger. But, even though I do not smoke and can count on two hands how many cigs I have smoked, the environmental danger I have been exposed to makes me a very plausible candidate for LC. Ultimately, I think everything we can do to reduce the risk is to our benefit. Our insurance rates might decrease, our quality of life increase.

Take care of yourself. We all care here. We have all been affected by LC in different ways, but we are all here for the same purpose.

Love, prayers, hope and healing...

Jan

Thanks for your post Rockie. I do know that non-smokers cannot relate to the addiction. It won't make "logical" sense to you, and we are harming the environment, etc. I am 38, and smoking was very acceptable when I started, my parents and everyone in my family did it and I learned to use it as a crutch. For me personally, when all of your heart, soul and determination is put into something else, its a very hard time to quit any crutch you might have. As much as I want to quit, all of my energy is directed with something else at this time, and the time will come soon. Its easy for others on the outside to tell us "just quit". Apparenlty smoking addiction itself is a big problem, there are drugs and hypnosis and accupuncture and many different therapies for it.

I do realize its a health risk, there is absolutely no argument at all that smoking is bad for everyone and everything.. My other post was an honest smokers perspective of how we talk ourselves ito believing it wont happen to us. I know that many non-smokers blame smokers for second hand smoke and exposing others..I also know you guys are very angry especially if you have a loved one with LC. My mom and grandfather had SCLC. Moms in remission now, Grandpa passed.

I dont know where you live or where you go that people are exposed to second hand smoke. But I have not smoked in public places for over 5 years now. The environment is a long term bigger issue. I know there are people who are irate with others for having certain kinds of cars because of the effects on the environnment as well..There is a much bigger picture here. It's like that song "We didnt start the fire" By Billy Joel. Its been going on long before I was around. But just look at the vast improvements that have been made considering smoking, which I think is huge. Look at today compared to 5years ago, and 5 years before that, and so on.. Unfortunately, we can't change the world overnight. And we cannot change other people, we can only change ourselves.

I think I am done on this subject. Good luck to all ;)
Thanks
Michele

SORRY MATTS MOM: I WASN'T SURE WHAT QUOTE MEANT, BUT I KNOW NOW...ALSO I WANT TO SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH SMOKING MEANS JOB SECURITY FOR ME ALSO AS I WORK IN A HOSPITAL...I WOULD VERY GLAD TO SEE SMOKERS WAKE UP AND STOP PAYING THE TOBACCO COMPANIES MONEY TO KILL THEM...SENGA: SO THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOUR MOTHER FROM STOPPING IS THAT THE DOCTOR DIDN'T TELL HER TO STOP:confused: THAT'S A POOR EXCUSE...AS FOR YOUR SON, HE PROBABLY SMELLS LIKE AN ASHTRAY AND AT THE VERY LEAST WILL HAVE LUNG DAMAGE LIKE **** OR EMPHYSEMA...ROCKIE: SORRY ABOUT YOUR HUBBY...MY FATHER ALSO QUIT AFTER SMOKING ABOUT 2 PACKS A DAY AND STILL GOT THROAT CANCER...I TOO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO SECOND HAND SMOKE SINCE BOTH OF MY PARENTS SMOKED SO DID I AND MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS...WHO KNOWS WHAT TIME BOMBS ARE WAITING TO GO OFF...MY FAMILY HAS LOST TOO MANY TO TOBACCO; MY MOTHER LUNG CA GONE, MY FATHER THROAT CA HANGING IN THERE, MY UNCLE THROAT CA GONE, MY GRANDFATHER EMPHYSEMA GONE, MY GREAT UNCLE THROAT AND MOUTH CA (CHEWING TOBACCO) GONE MY NANA LUNG CA (POSS SECOND HAD SMOKE) GONE...THE COST TO EVERYONE ONE OF US IS TOO HIGH AND WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT THE TOABCCO COMPANIES NEED TO KEEP RECRUITING MORE SMOKERS TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE ONES THAT DIE:angel: THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE.:wave:

Mattsmom, good luck to you as you travel this journey. I have heard of therapies that work, some that do not. If you are a religious person, I have heard it preached that if we give up something (and I use myself for my alcohol consumption that although not heavy might be better if not used at all) we need to replace that void with something else, or we go back to it. Bud filled his void with physical activity like camping, riding horses, etc..etc...I do not think that second hand smoke alone could cause me to get cancer as I live in SW Indiana where coal emissions and automobile emissions are trapped in our Ohio River Valley. We have been called the "armpit of America". I hope that our legislators take into cosideration the big picture. It isn't just Joe Smoker that causes issues, the problem is WAAAY bigger than that. Here in Evansville they have passed the no-smoking in public establishments etc etc....law. There are a lot of folks hollering about it. I do not frequent bars where probably a majority of public establishment smoking takes place, so I do try to stay away. What I am talking about is that sometimes when you are stalled at a traffic light for ages and the vehicles around you are puffing out their exhaust and their drivers are puffing away at "frustration" cicarettes I have no choice. The temps are 90+ degrees and the AC does not filter all of that out--if one is lucky to have AC. I still smell it, inhale it. I wonder what would happend if I pulled out my chilled bottle of Chardonnay and poured myself a glass while waiting and waiting for the traffic jam to clear up. I would go to jail. One day, a careless driver tossed out his lit up cigarette and it went straight into the bed of my pick up truck, where my hubby usually keeps building materials that could smolder and ignite. I think smoking is a personal choice and I certainly would not infringe upon that right. I just see the struggles of those who try to quit and makes me so angry at the tobacco companies that placed these highly addictive chemicals into these products. My hubby is 56 and started to smoke when the Marlboro Man was popular, John Wayne smoked (his hero), James Dean.....and people like Hank Williams Sr, etc etc.....

Just take care of yourself as best as you can. Anything you can do to at least cut back cannot hurt.

Take care always,
Jan

Mattsmom,jan: I See Where You Are Coming From But I Didn't Have Any Choice As A Child Of 2 Smokers...when They Smoked, I Smoked...on Vacation It Was Almost 24/7 In A Small Car With No Air Conditioning...plus The Added Bonus Of An Alcohlic Father...so I Don't Think It's Unfair To Keep Smokers Out Of Public Places...especialy Where Children Are Concerned...also New Data Has Come Out About Secondhand Smoke And The Very Real Danger It Poses To Non Smokers...italso Increases The Risk Of Sids, Asthma,bronchitis And Future Lung Diseases...2 Wrongs Never Make A Right...lets At Least Eliminate The Risks We Can And Work On The Rest...thank You:)

:mad: I still get angry when a smoker imposes his bad habit on me...My coworkers still smoke as if there were not tommorow and the way they smoke maybe there won't be one :confused: ...I try not to say anything but it seems so self destructive...and yes I think a person should quit even after they are terminal with lung cancer...why make the tobacco companies richer by buying the very product that is killing them...thank you