Hello, I'm new here and have a question regarding reconstruction and smoking
Comments
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EXACTLY!!!! When my PlasticJosie21 said:Hi
I have never been a smoker, but I know that there are things I have been trying to quit since being diagnosed that I just can't do. I know I should be eating better, but I keep reaching for the sweets and carbohydrates. Why? Because I am addicted to them. I think cigarettes are a toxic subject on a cancer site, but I understand how hard it must be for you. Maybe right now you can just concentrate on the initial surgery to remove the cancer and do the reconstruction when you are emotionally ready to quit smoking. I do not advocate smoking, but maybe you need time to gradually cut down. Being ordered to do something that you have been doing for years and years is difficult under the best of circumstances. When I am stressed I eat worse, when you are stressed you probably smoke more. All I am saying is you can't hold off having the mastectomies, but you can delay the reconstruction if you have to. I pray you won't have to do that, but it is an option. Do you have to have chemo? If not, then maybe after the mastectomies you can really try and focus on quitting after the enormous stress of being told you have breast cancer and being treated for breast cancer is over. Good luck! I know you can do it.
And please don't think anyone is judging you, everyone just wants you to be well. We are all in this together!!
Hugs,
Ginny
EXACTLY!!!! When my Plastic Surgeon told me to quit that day I met him, I walked out of his office feeling very overwhelmed over the reconstruction, and picking out the right type of implant, and all of the decisions on delayed or right away,,, I was feeling like I was becoming a burden on my family and my husband that he would have to drive me back and forth the the drs office for the "fill of solution" which is a 45 minute drive. I lit up a real one as soon as I got in the car... <<< why??? because I am addicted just like you said,,, Luckily my breast surgeon is doing the mastectomies whether I smoke or not, she told me don't worry that part of the surgery will definately happen. It's been since yesterday at 12:00pm when I had a real cigarette. I want to have my Plastic Surgeon there to put the enhancers in soon after the mastectomies. I just want to avoid as much surgery as possible. I'm not sure if I have to have chemo . I just found out that biopsy of my right breast was benign, so ,,,, so far it's in my left breast only and may not have hit the lymph nodes. I was dx'd with stage 1 to a 2, but not sure if that changes since it's only in the left breast.
Thank you so much for your support
Pam0 -
I also want to wish you goodpamela1204 said:EXACTLY!!!! When my Plastic
EXACTLY!!!! When my Plastic Surgeon told me to quit that day I met him, I walked out of his office feeling very overwhelmed over the reconstruction, and picking out the right type of implant, and all of the decisions on delayed or right away,,, I was feeling like I was becoming a burden on my family and my husband that he would have to drive me back and forth the the drs office for the "fill of solution" which is a 45 minute drive. I lit up a real one as soon as I got in the car... <<< why??? because I am addicted just like you said,,, Luckily my breast surgeon is doing the mastectomies whether I smoke or not, she told me don't worry that part of the surgery will definately happen. It's been since yesterday at 12:00pm when I had a real cigarette. I want to have my Plastic Surgeon there to put the enhancers in soon after the mastectomies. I just want to avoid as much surgery as possible. I'm not sure if I have to have chemo . I just found out that biopsy of my right breast was benign, so ,,,, so far it's in my left breast only and may not have hit the lymph nodes. I was dx'd with stage 1 to a 2, but not sure if that changes since it's only in the left breast.
Thank you so much for your support
PamI also want to wish you good luck in quitting. One trick that might help too is buy those little baby carrots. When you want a cigarette, get those and eat them.
Good luck, Jan
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Thank you Jan,, I just camesurvivorbc09 said:I also want to wish you good
I also want to wish you good luck in quitting. One trick that might help too is buy those little baby carrots. When you want a cigarette, get those and eat them.
Good luck, Jan
Thank you Jan,, I just came back from the store and bought a big container of pretzel rods!! lol,, Hope it helps!
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My Father, Brother andpamela1204 said:Thank you Jan,, I just came
Thank you Jan,, I just came back from the store and bought a big container of pretzel rods!! lol,, Hope it helps!
My Father, Brother and Husband all got hypnotized and it worked for them. I don't know if that is an option or not. You might check into it. My Father's doctor told them about a guy that did this and had helped others.
Good luck,
Debby
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I've neverDebbyM said:My Father, Brother and
My Father, Brother and Husband all got hypnotized and it worked for them. I don't know if that is an option or not. You might check into it. My Father's doctor told them about a guy that did this and had helped others.
Good luck,
Debby
I've never smoked but my husband has all our life together. 46 1/2 years. I'm very upset he won't stop. If he just wouldn't do it near me.This is told to him everyday.Acts like he forgot.I can be in the computer room and he lights up.When I go in there I smell and breathe it.I get bothered. He lights up outside the car at the grocery etc,That helps.I worried about the odor when he gets in the car but the doctor said that"s safe. just don't be around the smoking. Our niece and her husband smoke but no matter what the weather they go outside.Never smoke around others or the little ones in the family.
Do your best to quit.Not only will it save your life but you will have more energy and a better chance of the cancer not coming back. Maybe your husband can cut back and later be able to quit.My husband has heart disease and his smoking is going to cause a shorter life span but I sure don't want to take that chance. I should have a choice and he should listen to my concerns.
Wish you the best.
Lynn Smith
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My mother and father had many
My mother and father had many siblings each came from families of around 12. It was VERY fashionable to smoke then and from a very young age. They thought it looked sophisticated like famous film stars did and heavens knows after The Second World War it was good just to be alive ( I am English) Life was very hard then. Priorities were much different. More is known now of course but that doesn't make it easier. Nothing does. All of us cousins and there are a multitude of us grew up in smoke filled homes, most of us didnt end up smoking thank goodness. Nearly everyone of my aunts and uncles have now passed and I believe I can safely say all were taken at least 10 to 20 years early due to smoking related illness. I know how horribly hard it is to stop. My mum smoked till the day she died from lung cancer after three bouts of breast cancer, she needed oxygen and inhalers for years before hand. Her choice, I think our health has suffered from those years of their heavy smoking but not bitter because no one is perfect, certainly not me. I would like to think if they had known the dangers back then they would not have smoked for the sake of their health and the children but it really was a different time. Food on the table was the biggest priority and keeping a job, head above water. My thing is, how could any one every have thought it wouldn't hartm your insides it is just common sense. These days the young do it because a certain percentage always rebell, young people don't think about illness or premature death, or Life Insurance etc. I still miss my parents, uncles and aunties sooooo much.
Try every avenue to stop if you can, hard as it is. I had no idea smoking interfered with healing from breast cancer treatments, just never thought about it and never came up as never a smoker. I would try the hypnosis heard some good outcomes from that. Good luck. One thing though I know very few people who smoke now but the few I do are declining in their sixties especially with respiratory problems. The worst and painful death of a relative was a dear uncle who caught throat cancer, not pleasant for him or his children carers.
You have had three major illnesses, this last breast cancer diagnosis though still ongoing, your body is telling you to get healthy like now, asap. Kind of like warnings. Keep looking for help.
Good luck.
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Quitting is more thanpamela1204 said:Thank you Jan,, I just came
Thank you Jan,, I just came back from the store and bought a big container of pretzel rods!! lol,, Hope it helps!
Quitting is more than difficult, it is very, very hard. You will quit. Just take it one day at a time.
Best of luck to you,
Lynne
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Was a smoker tooRozHopkins said:My mother and father had many
My mother and father had many siblings each came from families of around 12. It was VERY fashionable to smoke then and from a very young age. They thought it looked sophisticated like famous film stars did and heavens knows after The Second World War it was good just to be alive ( I am English) Life was very hard then. Priorities were much different. More is known now of course but that doesn't make it easier. Nothing does. All of us cousins and there are a multitude of us grew up in smoke filled homes, most of us didnt end up smoking thank goodness. Nearly everyone of my aunts and uncles have now passed and I believe I can safely say all were taken at least 10 to 20 years early due to smoking related illness. I know how horribly hard it is to stop. My mum smoked till the day she died from lung cancer after three bouts of breast cancer, she needed oxygen and inhalers for years before hand. Her choice, I think our health has suffered from those years of their heavy smoking but not bitter because no one is perfect, certainly not me. I would like to think if they had known the dangers back then they would not have smoked for the sake of their health and the children but it really was a different time. Food on the table was the biggest priority and keeping a job, head above water. My thing is, how could any one every have thought it wouldn't hartm your insides it is just common sense. These days the young do it because a certain percentage always rebell, young people don't think about illness or premature death, or Life Insurance etc. I still miss my parents, uncles and aunties sooooo much.
Try every avenue to stop if you can, hard as it is. I had no idea smoking interfered with healing from breast cancer treatments, just never thought about it and never came up as never a smoker. I would try the hypnosis heard some good outcomes from that. Good luck. One thing though I know very few people who smoke now but the few I do are declining in their sixties especially with respiratory problems. The worst and painful death of a relative was a dear uncle who caught throat cancer, not pleasant for him or his children carers.
You have had three major illnesses, this last breast cancer diagnosis though still ongoing, your body is telling you to get healthy like now, asap. Kind of like warnings. Keep looking for help.
Good luck.
I smoked for 50 years. I knew I had to stop especially when breast cancer kicked in. My doctor put me on Wellbutrin (bupropian). I prayed a lot. I took it for about 2 weeks before I stopped smoking so I could get the full effect to help me. Then I prayed some more. I have now been smokeless for 2 months.
Maybe this will help you. I pray God will help you through.
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Sorry. Somehow I posted twiceRozHopkins said:My mother and father had many
My mother and father had many siblings each came from families of around 12. It was VERY fashionable to smoke then and from a very young age. They thought it looked sophisticated like famous film stars did and heavens knows after The Second World War it was good just to be alive ( I am English) Life was very hard then. Priorities were much different. More is known now of course but that doesn't make it easier. Nothing does. All of us cousins and there are a multitude of us grew up in smoke filled homes, most of us didnt end up smoking thank goodness. Nearly everyone of my aunts and uncles have now passed and I believe I can safely say all were taken at least 10 to 20 years early due to smoking related illness. I know how horribly hard it is to stop. My mum smoked till the day she died from lung cancer after three bouts of breast cancer, she needed oxygen and inhalers for years before hand. Her choice, I think our health has suffered from those years of their heavy smoking but not bitter because no one is perfect, certainly not me. I would like to think if they had known the dangers back then they would not have smoked for the sake of their health and the children but it really was a different time. Food on the table was the biggest priority and keeping a job, head above water. My thing is, how could any one every have thought it wouldn't hartm your insides it is just common sense. These days the young do it because a certain percentage always rebell, young people don't think about illness or premature death, or Life Insurance etc. I still miss my parents, uncles and aunties sooooo much.
Try every avenue to stop if you can, hard as it is. I had no idea smoking interfered with healing from breast cancer treatments, just never thought about it and never came up as never a smoker. I would try the hypnosis heard some good outcomes from that. Good luck. One thing though I know very few people who smoke now but the few I do are declining in their sixties especially with respiratory problems. The worst and painful death of a relative was a dear uncle who caught throat cancer, not pleasant for him or his children carers.
You have had three major illnesses, this last breast cancer diagnosis though still ongoing, your body is telling you to get healthy like now, asap. Kind of like warnings. Keep looking for help.
Good luck.
OOPS!
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Gum, tootsie roll pops, anypamela1204 said:EXACTLY!!!! When my Plastic
EXACTLY!!!! When my Plastic Surgeon told me to quit that day I met him, I walked out of his office feeling very overwhelmed over the reconstruction, and picking out the right type of implant, and all of the decisions on delayed or right away,,, I was feeling like I was becoming a burden on my family and my husband that he would have to drive me back and forth the the drs office for the "fill of solution" which is a 45 minute drive. I lit up a real one as soon as I got in the car... <<< why??? because I am addicted just like you said,,, Luckily my breast surgeon is doing the mastectomies whether I smoke or not, she told me don't worry that part of the surgery will definately happen. It's been since yesterday at 12:00pm when I had a real cigarette. I want to have my Plastic Surgeon there to put the enhancers in soon after the mastectomies. I just want to avoid as much surgery as possible. I'm not sure if I have to have chemo . I just found out that biopsy of my right breast was benign, so ,,,, so far it's in my left breast only and may not have hit the lymph nodes. I was dx'd with stage 1 to a 2, but not sure if that changes since it's only in the left breast.
Thank you so much for your support
PamGum, tootsie roll pops, any kind of hard candy might help. I wish you luck in quitting.
June
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Thank you to everyone that
Thank you to everyone that commented,, I have been smoke free for 5 full days!!! I did it!
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Congratulations Pampamela1204 said:Thank you to everyone that
Thank you to everyone that commented,, I have been smoke free for 5 full days!!! I did it!
I've been reading this thread and have not commented but I'm so pleased you're making progress at quitting. Everyone has a story these days either about their personal experience with quitting or so and so's quitting and there simply is no way to make smoking an ok thing to do anymore on any level. I still do NOT feel that smokers should be treated like pond scum and I hate, hate, hate, all the hate there is toward smokers in today's world. Probably because my husband smokes and I feel his choice to continue isolates him and makes him unacceptable socially. We live in California where it is not ok to smoke just about anywhere. Our marriage has suffered because he is not interested in going anywhere because of his need to have a cigarette. He has become a reclusive old man. His choice. He has chosen to continue smoking. He had a stroke 5 years ago and quit for about a week then started again. He's an odd duck for sure because I do have several friends who stll smoke, and they have a life, but I just wanted to comment on the effect of smoking on others beyond the health issues (he smokes outside). Emotionally it is really hard on me and I dread the day when something smoking related happens to him (again) and I'm the one who has to be the caretaker. I smoked for 30 years (but I don't think I was officially addicted, I was a social smoker when it was the social thing to do) and I knew our lives would change if I quit and he didn't, but little Pollyanna me figured he'd quit too. That was 20 years ago!! I just don't see it happening now and it really makes me sad and angry.
Please keep trying to quit, but we love you whether you do or not. And if you fail this time, please try again. "They" say it often takes more than one attempt.
Hugs,
Suzanne
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Good luck to youpamela1204 said:Thank you to everyone that
Thank you to everyone that commented,, I have been smoke free for 5 full days!!! I did it!
Quitting is the hardest thing to do; I think it is easier to quit eating! Don't be too hard on yourself. There is nothing worse than a reformed smoker. My husband used to smoke in the bedroom and when I wanted to open a window, he would complain about his allergies. He quit about 10 years ago and will now huff and hold his breath when he has to pass a smoker.
Cindy
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To help you QUIT smoking!....
Stopping the smoking should be the very first bad habit to quit... This is a trick my brother in-law used may sound strange but he said it worked for him. Empty all ashtrays into a jar. Fill that jar with water to above contents. When you feel the urge to smoke open the jar and smell it. (It's foul smelling) Retraining the brain from good sensation to bad sensation. Also put a rubber band on the wrist (but not if you had lymph nodes removed that side) and when get the urge to smoke snap it so to sting. Again training the brain. Best of luck to you!
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Yeah!pamela1204 said:Thank you to everyone that
Thank you to everyone that commented,, I have been smoke free for 5 full days!!! I did it!
Good for you!!! Keep up the good work!
Hugs,
Ginny
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I understand. I have smokedpamela1204 said:Thank you for understanding ,
Thank you for understanding , that's the worst part of all of this,,no one understands how difficult it is when you are stressed. I'm sure everyone has a crutch when they're stressed, some people drink, some eat, and some smoke.. it's my crutch,,, I have the e cigarette that I've been trying to use and get used to, it's nicotine free and that's why I keep cheating with a real one,, when nicotine is out of my system I start to crave a real cigarette. I'm really worried that even with my attempts but constant failures, my PS will just walk away and not help me.
I understand. I have smoked for 30 years and was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of last year. I have completed my treatments but am still suffering the after effects. Yes I too got many lectures on the dangers and complications of smoking during my surgery and treatments. I remember the extreme anxiety, fear, confusion ect that I felt when I got the news and still feel to this day, having said that, I cant imagine a worse time to take on quitting smoking. It's an addiction thats so much stronger when we are under stress and at our weakest. I didnt quit or even try then, but I have taken steps to conquer it once and for all now. I tried the gum and hated it so I got the Step 1 patches. They really do reduce your cravings. I still have them now and then, and I have cheated now and then, but its getting better. It's been 2 months and I'm stepping down to phase 2 patches and I havent cheated in days. Its a process, and more than patches are needed. Talk, meditate, got for a walk, buy some sugar free candy, whatever u have to do to get u through because its not going to be easy I know. Get the patches, the nicotine wont hurt u, its the other many many dangerous chemicals they are putting in our smokes thats killing us. They are not perfect and wont be a cure all, but they do help calm the cravings. Take care and god bless. U wont succeed at this if its just because others want u too, u will only have a chance when u really want to.
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pamela1204 said:
Heather, Thank you so much! I
Heather, Thank you so much! I don't understand how being a smoker can upset so many people! I feel like I was made into a mass murderer or something LOL,, I smoke,,,, yes I know its bad,,,,, and your so right when you told people "dont judge",,, I have been using the E cigarette all day today, I have the pina colada flavored ( no nicotine and no tobacco). when I feel I need to actually light up, I have herbal cigarettes that are also no nicotine,,,, I still crave the nicotine though because I am still addicted to it,, with that said,, I am scared that I will continue to screw up and my plastic surgeon will not help me.... I'm trying, I really am, and what you wrote made me feel "supported" and not ridiculed!
im glad you felt
im glad you felt supported, Pamela! That shows that i did exactly what i set out to do, then! Id like to think that the person who wrote that judgemental post to you was, in her eyes, just wanting the best for you, but went about it in a judgemental way.
Regardless, we are all in the same boat here, affected by this craptaculous breast cancer. This site provides opportunity to support one another and thats what i love about it! I got lots of support when i was first diagnosed and i like to come back here and check on everyone and lend some support and experience when i can. I've read your updates & am glad to see that youre sticking to the not smoking! It's hard work, but you just gotta get through one craving at a time!
xoxo
heather
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AWESOME NEWSkmenurse said:To help you QUIT smoking!....
Stopping the smoking should be the very first bad habit to quit... This is a trick my brother in-law used may sound strange but he said it worked for him. Empty all ashtrays into a jar. Fill that jar with water to above contents. When you feel the urge to smoke open the jar and smell it. (It's foul smelling) Retraining the brain from good sensation to bad sensation. Also put a rubber band on the wrist (but not if you had lymph nodes removed that side) and when get the urge to smoke snap it so to sting. Again training the brain. Best of luck to you!
I am delighted for you. That is reallllly great news. I don't really know you, but I am so proud of you. Congrats.
Sandy
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stopping smokingpamela1204 said:Thank you to everyone that
Thank you to everyone that commented,, I have been smoke free for 5 full days!!! I did it!
Congratulations! You can do it. We all have faith in you.
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