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Have you tried to quit smoking while undergoing treatment?

Posted by Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung, Jun 7, 2018

The decision to quit smoking is a very personal one. Everyone has his or her own reason that helps start the journey to quit smoking. The diagnosis of a serious illness or chronic condition, like cancer, a heart condition, lung condition, diabetes, might be one reason to quit smoking as part of treatment and recovery.

Are you currently undergoing treatment for a serious illness or chronic condition, or are you a survivor of a serious illness who made the decision to quit smoking while undergoing treatment? If yes, and you feel comfortable doing so, please share the experience of your journey to quit smoking.

Thank you for sharing your experiences anonymously in the online survey. The survey is now closed.

However you can continue to share your experiences here in an open discussion with other members. Your story can help others on their journey to quit smoking.
- Did you decide to quit while undergoing treatment? Why or why not?
- What uncertainties or challenges did you face?
- How did your care providers support you to quit smoking? How could they have supported you differently or better?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Cancer Support Group.

Donna | @stimey60 | Jan 22 10:35am

I have tried and tried to quit but never succeed
Until they told me I had lung cancer quit that day! Yeah it's like closing the barn door, but it was the motivation I needed. It's was hard! I smoked for 53 years! I used patches gum the gum i still chew. It's been almost two years now. Do I miss them? Oh yes. Do I still want one? Oh yes! But it's become harder and harder to smoke you feel like a freak any more. It's kind of nice not having to rush outside any more. And I don't stink anymore.
Is it easy no, but cancer is harder.

REPLY
iandunlop | @iandunlop | Jan 22 8:14am
In reply to @iandunlop "You asked about quitting smoking- Well here is my story. I was a 71-year-old man smoking..." + (show)
@iandunlop

You asked about quitting smoking- Well here is my story. I was a 71-year-old man smoking about 35 cigarettes a day and had been smoking for over 50 years. I had tried giving up cigarettes a few times using patches and pills but had never taken it that seriously. I did noticed pains in my feet and lower legs, hands and arms and in my chin but had not been overly concerned about these. Then I noticed problems with my toes in that the ends of my big and adjacent toes were turning black on both feet and the toe nails looked bad. Now I live in Australia and on our cigarette packets we have harassing pictures of the various problems caused by smoking. Hence, it was obvious to me that I had Buerger’s disease. As far as I knew you either stopped smoking or had your limbs amputated. Some choice. My guess was that I had only about six months more to live unless I gave up smoking. Convinced that I should give up smoking my mind strongly supported me. I just stopped cold turkey. At no stage did I have any cravings for another cigarette. Note I did not tell my Medical Practitioner about the problem or my wife who is a Specialist Histopathologist. I was going to solve this problem myself and I have. I decide to increase my exercise load and improve my already excellent diet. We had a Treadmill and I spent about 30 to 45 minutes a day walking at about 6 to 7 kilometres per hour for six months. Treadmills get very boring, so I bought a titanium road racing bike and slowly increased my riding distance to about 60 kilometres a day or 300 kilometres (188 miles) a week (had a couple of no ride days). Over a year I was riding about 12, 000 kilometres (7,500 miles) or a greater distance than I drove my car.I did this for about 3.5 years, but all did not seem to be quite right. This ended up with me being sent to a heart specialist who diagnosed that I had a non-clinical form of Atrial Fibrillation. He put me on the blood thinner Xarelto just in case. Being on a blood thinner that could not be easily reversed I gave up cycling as the thought of falling from a bike at 40 kph and having internal bleeding did not inspire me. I now walk about 30 kilometres a week, have 5 yoga lessons and a single Pilates lesson. Diet wise I have just about given up meat and have not used added sugar for 30 years and have not had any fast food in that period. I am appalled at the Super Market when I read the nutritional facts on manufactured food products. I recently had my second visit to the heart specialist who told me I am still non-clinical and have been so for a long time as the shape of my heart has changed to accommodate the AFib problem. My blood lipids are excellent with a Coronary Risk Ratio of 2.5 against an Australian average of 4.9. I have never had a heart operation and have no AFib problems that are observable to me without using an instrument like the heart rate monitor on my watch.People who see me bare footed have trouble in believing that I ever had Buerger’s disease.

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Hi
I am now age 83 and going very strong. I swallow many vitamins and tablets and do about one hour a day exercise. My GP fully tested me when I turned 83. She could not find a thing wrong with my health using pathology and other tests. I was told I could live as long as I liked as any problems I got were fixable in my current condition. My cognisance is fine and I even had to spell Australia backwards to prove it.

Recently I had a small skin cancer removed from my left arm but that was no trauma. People
think I look about 73 and I sometimes have to prove my age by using my drivers licence. So life is good and I still live in my own home without goverment assistance.
All the best to all of you.

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upnorth12 | @upnorth12 | Jan 21 9:20am

Absolutely quitting immediately. But I've only been an occasional ultra light smoker and its not a problem for me.

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Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Dec 30, 2021
In reply to @tinajackson40 "i getting weigth loss surgery done next month on 26 i get nicotine testing done how..." + (show)
@tinajackson40

i getting weigth loss surgery done next month on 26 i get nicotine testing done how long nicotine get out my blood can i drink alot of water can that to get the nicotine out my blood

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@tinajackson40- Welcome to Mayo CLinic Connect.

Water helps flush a lot of things out of your bloodstream faster, including nicotine. But it takes about 4 full days for it to leave your body. I know that quitting is difficult. I quit one night after 35 years of smoking, a week ahead of open chest surgery for lung cancer. I was determined and had changed my mindset, but If you are planning on trying to fool a blood test then perhaps you should wait until you are ready to quit.

My cousin, several years ago, took out additional life insurance on his wife and found out that she was a smoker.

I wish you the best in your operation. I know that you have a large prep of having to do certain things by certain dates. And I'm certain that are finding these difficult but manageable. But trying to quit nicotine and reduce a lot of weight will be very trying. Please, please make sure that you are ready and determined for both.

Merry

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tinajackson40 | @tinajackson40 | Dec 30, 2021

i getting weigth loss surgery done next month on 26 i get nicotine testing done how long nicotine get out my blood can i drink alot of water can that to get the nicotine out my blood

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1 reply
meka | @meka | Apr 19, 2020
In reply to @lynann99 "I like that idea thank you" + (show)
@lynann99

I like that idea thank you

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Keep on keeping on, you can do it and will do it!!

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lynann99 | @lynann99 | Apr 18, 2020
In reply to @merpreb "@lynann99- Yay! You did it. I have to tell you that quitting smoking is tough no..." + (show)
@merpreb

@lynann99- Yay! You did it. I have to tell you that quitting smoking is tough no matter what's going on. And as JK said, think of the benefits of quitting. Something that helped me was coming up with a mantra. Mine was, if you smoke, you'll die. I was just told that I had lung cancer, 22+ years ago and my husband kept saying to me, "If you smoke, you'll die". I'm still here!

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I like that idea thank you

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1 reply
virgo1952 | @virgo1952 | Apr 17, 2020
In reply to @merpreb "@lynann99- Yay! You did it. I have to tell you that quitting smoking is tough no..." + (show)
@merpreb

@lynann99- Yay! You did it. I have to tell you that quitting smoking is tough no matter what's going on. And as JK said, think of the benefits of quitting. Something that helped me was coming up with a mantra. Mine was, if you smoke, you'll die. I was just told that I had lung cancer, 22+ years ago and my husband kept saying to me, "If you smoke, you'll die". I'm still here!

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@lynann99. I second that “yay” Put all that $ you would be spending in a can, account or whatever. Do something nice for yourself down the road! virgo

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Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Apr 17, 2020
In reply to @lynann99 "Thank you so much for your support. Its really hard to quit with everytging thats going..." + (show)
@lynann99

Thank you so much for your support. Its really hard to quit with everytging thats going on

Jump to this post

@lynann99- Yay! You did it. I have to tell you that quitting smoking is tough no matter what's going on. And as JK said, think of the benefits of quitting. Something that helped me was coming up with a mantra. Mine was, if you smoke, you'll die. I was just told that I had lung cancer, 22+ years ago and my husband kept saying to me, "If you smoke, you'll die". I'm still here!

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2 replies
lynann99 | @lynann99 | Apr 17, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@lynann99 congratulations! Keep it up, it’s worth it. Along with your health, think of the money..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@lynann99 congratulations! Keep it up, it’s worth it. Along with your health, think of the money you will save. I can’t believe how expensive cigarettes are these days.
I’m sure you will get urges, but try to think of a distraction you can use when you do. We are all rooting for you.
JK

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Thank you so much for your support. Its really hard to quit with everytging thats going on

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