Smoking

kyolcu

Hi everyone,

As you may know I have colon cancer mets to liver and lungs and currently continuing treatment at MD Anderson, so far so good.

Unfortunately, I have bad habit of smoking one cigar a day although I have MD background from overseas(not practicing in the State) I wonder has anyone have input to this title.  I am sure most of you may say are you crazy why are you smoking if you have medical background but as I mentioned earlier it is bad addiction. I know tumor cells anaerobic environment to grow more than anything else. There are a lot of factors effecting of continuing bad habit but I want to hear how other people handling that. How much has nicotine effecting incurable Stage 4 cancer?? Thanks for helpful input.

Trubrit

Bad habits

We all have some kind of bad habit, and we're defintely not going to tell you that you're crazy.  

One thing I know about smoking, is that it inhibits healing. I worked for many years as a medical assistant, and many of our smoking patients had problems healing from surgery. 

I don't know how smoking affects chemo.  And I'm quite sure you know all about the 'other' downsides to smoking, so I'll not go into any of that. 

Sorry I couldn't be any more help, but I just wanted to let you know 'you're not crazy'. 

Tru

Annabelle41415

Smoking

Stopping smoking was a Godsend for me as me stopping 5 months earlier was a chance for my vessels to then go back to normal and release blood into my stool in order for me to see it.  Knowing something was wrong started the whole process of me finding out about my cancer diagnosis.  Smoking can cause slow healing like Tru said but I'm not sure about only one cigar a day.  Just thought with cigars that most don't inhale it anyway (not sure on that) so I'm not sure how much affect that would be compared to cigarrett smoking.  Hopefully others will have more info for you.

Kim

darcher

Docs don't tell us to stop

  I had it on my chart because i was honest enough to admit it.   Although I'm a light smoker and the cirarettes are light as well and I don't inhale I have seen and felt the affects.  My O2 measurement is perfect so maybe that's why they don't give me much grief.  Not one doctor or oncologist told me to stop.  a nurse did tell me on the day of surgery that it would make healing take longer but I was still out of the hospital on the 3rd day.  

kyolcu

darcher said:

Docs don't tell us to stop

  I had it on my chart because i was honest enough to admit it.   Although I'm a light smoker and the cirarettes are light as well and I don't inhale I have seen and felt the affects.  My O2 measurement is perfect so maybe that's why they don't give me much grief.  Not one doctor or oncologist told me to stop.  a nurse did tell me on the day of surgery that it would make healing take longer but I was still out of the hospital on the 3rd day.  

Thank you All

Thank you all for great input.

Darcher my Oxygen measurement also comes out normal. It will be absorbed through skin although I don’t inhale cigar at all but I still want to keep it in moderation.

beaumontdave

kyolcu said:

Thank you All

Thank you all for great input.

Darcher my Oxygen measurement also comes out normal. It will be absorbed through skin although I don’t inhale cigar at all but I still want to keep it in moderation.

I always chime in on vices

I always chime in on vices because I have them and have survived so far with them. I still eat regular food, choosing nonbeef entrees more often, eating fruit and veggies more often. I still have beers a couple times a week, and a cheap cigar with them. I still work and try to get exercise on the side, or when things are slow, but I still could drop 25 lbs., and will probably be forever trying to do so. I took Xanax for appointments and procedures, and occasionally just to calm my mind, and/or sleep.  CRC runs in my family, so either I've been lucky, or the baby aspirin really helps, as I haven't had even a polyp in the the last, almost eleven years. It's not that I don't care, but when my wife caught the brain tumor 16 months later, when she was healthy enough, we chased good food and good times, knowing the clock was running for her, and maybe for me. I wasn't going to curb our pleasure together to bump my odds, if that's what it came down to. Moderation is a broad term, but I believe I follow my version of it, and the blood panels and scans don't show different after all this time, so I just offer my story as perspective against those viewpoints that preach abolition and celery stalks..............................................Dave

kyolcu

beaumontdave said:

I always chime in on vices

I always chime in on vices because I have them and have survived so far with them. I still eat regular food, choosing nonbeef entrees more often, eating fruit and veggies more often. I still have beers a couple times a week, and a cheap cigar with them. I still work and try to get exercise on the side, or when things are slow, but I still could drop 25 lbs., and will probably be forever trying to do so. I took Xanax for appointments and procedures, and occasionally just to calm my mind, and/or sleep.  CRC runs in my family, so either I've been lucky, or the baby aspirin really helps, as I haven't had even a polyp in the the last, almost eleven years. It's not that I don't care, but when my wife caught the brain tumor 16 months later, when she was healthy enough, we chased good food and good times, knowing the clock was running for her, and maybe for me. I wasn't going to curb our pleasure together to bump my odds, if that's what it came down to. Moderation is a broad term, but I believe I follow my version of it, and the blood panels and scans don't show different after all this time, so I just offer my story as perspective against those viewpoints that preach abolition and celery stalks..............................................Dave

Dave

Thank you for sharing your story and perspective with us. 

Kadir

Annabelle41415

darcher said:

Docs don't tell us to stop

  I had it on my chart because i was honest enough to admit it.   Although I'm a light smoker and the cirarettes are light as well and I don't inhale I have seen and felt the affects.  My O2 measurement is perfect so maybe that's why they don't give me much grief.  Not one doctor or oncologist told me to stop.  a nurse did tell me on the day of surgery that it would make healing take longer but I was still out of the hospital on the 3rd day.  

Smoking

My great enjoyment was smoking.  Wasn't a full pack person and only smoked half at a time, but oh how I'd love to have one now.  You are fortunate no one told you to stop.  As many times as I've been in the hospital and they are none smoking I'd go crazy.

Kim

Citizenmadrid

I now smoke

I do not judge you as crazy.  I am 74 and recently started smoking ( Camels- no filter ). In treatment for Cecal Cancer.  I will have HIPEC surgery in two weeks so I won't be smoking for a month or two.  I do not know if I will start again. I like to take each day as it comes for some things/plan others extensively. When I do get released from hospital, I plan to have a bourbon or two.