Smoking

denistd
denistd Member Posts: 597
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

When I was diagnosed with stage 3 larynx cancer in 2009 i joined an online forum thinking that I may have to have a laryngectomy. At this point I had already quit smoking, about a year earlier. There was a guy on this site who had also just been diagnosed with stage 2 larynx cancer, he was a current smoker. My treatment was 35 rads and 3 cisplatin shots. He got 30 rads only. A year later he was back on the forum saying that his voice had not returned and he was having some pain in his throat. He was still smoking and drinking. he later turned up and said that he was going to have a laryngectomy. he never did get the operation as they found the cancer in other places in his head and neck. He was still smoking. in 2011 he died and I have often wondered if the continued smoking and drinking caused a stage 2 cancer to spread that fast, he was only 54, also wondered why he was not given chemo.

 

Comments

  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #2
    denis, i had stage 2 larynx

    denis, i had stage 2 larynx cancer and quit smoking.  i had 35 rad trmnts.  7 months later i started smoking again.  about 1.5 yrs later, the cancer was back ad now stage 3.  i had to have the laryngectomy.  i will always wonder f my smoking again brought the cancer back.  i'll never know for sure but thats what i suspect.  i'm not sure about your friend but my personal opinion is the smoking and drinkinh prob had something to do with his death.  i'm sorry about his death.  its always sad to hear this type of news.

    dj

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #3
    debbiejeanne said:

    denis, i had stage 2 larynx

    denis, i had stage 2 larynx cancer and quit smoking.  i had 35 rad trmnts.  7 months later i started smoking again.  about 1.5 yrs later, the cancer was back ad now stage 3.  i had to have the laryngectomy.  i will always wonder f my smoking again brought the cancer back.  i'll never know for sure but thats what i suspect.  i'm not sure about your friend but my personal opinion is the smoking and drinkinh prob had something to do with his death.  i'm sorry about his death.  its always sad to hear this type of news.

    dj

    No answers

    I quit but am now battling cancer for the 2nd time. Somethings we'll just never have the answers to. 

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #4
    I have gone through it three times but

    The statistics are pretty well known.  I was also a smoker, quit for good with my first cancer in 1998.  Statistically, if you have a smoking related cancer and are cured with your first treatment, there is a huge difference in how things go on down the road.  if you don't smoke, your lifetime risk of a second  primary is about 10%.  If you continue to smoke, it is 5% PER YEAR!   I had the misfortune of having a second cancer, and a third, both of which were related to HPV, not smoking.  A little complicated.  But the message is, smoking is a **** for  oral cancer.  QUIT RIGHT NOW is the rule.

     

    Pat

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #5
    I'm sure....

    I was a smoker (cigarettes, pipe and cigar) for 35 years. I drank a bit as well through my teens into adulthood. Let's just put it this way... I "partied"  with all sorts of "stuff" a lot! My cancer was HPV16+ and I'm quite sure I picked up that little gem in my youth as well. So I had a double edge sword when it came to oral cancer. I'm quite sure my cancer was due to smoking and the HPV just gave it a booster shot.

    Last August when I got a sinus infection and the swollen gland I made the decision to quit. I wasn't even suspecting cancer at that point. I went with e-cig or "vaping" and worked my way down in the nicotine cartridges to 0mg. Other than a few times when I caved and had a cigar in very stressful situations, I quit tobacco totally prior to my diagnosis. Even my team felt it was better than the 4000+ chemicals in tobacco smoke. 

    I still miss it! I'm not gonna kid you or myself. I'd love to find a nice shady spot in the mountains, build a fire, sip a cold one and enjoy a Macanudo but I can't knowing what could happen. On the other side of the coin, my Dad smoked his entire life. He just recently quit at the age of 82 so you never know. 

    I know how difficult the addiction is but what choice do you have? Stop and have a chance at life or continue and help Jack finish the job.

    "T"

  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #6
    My opinion only

    Dennis, I have never smoked or have used any tobacco products, but have had my share of drinks. Being in Senior Management in the Industrial Construction Industry, drinking and work can seem to go hand in hand. I'm actually watching the Cardinals lose to the Braves and having some beers as I type this. Way off course, but here is what my many docs have said, at least relative to HPV derived cancer. My previous medical team in STL and my current medical team in Austin TX. They get their respective HPV research from the Mayo Clinic and MD Anerson. "If your cancer is HPV derived, all of the previous smoking and drinking most likely did not cause your cancer, and continued smoking and drinking will  most likely not cause a return of cancer." I say this referencing "most likely" and I have metastatic H&N ca to the lung and Mediastynal nodes, and I continue to have HPV cell type so I tend to agree with what they say. I'm no expert, but I do still drink, and am on Pallarive care, but I confuse the S$&T out of my docs, as all of my bloodwork far exceeds expectation, I'm 5'9 210 lbs and can still bench 375 lbs and squat 615 lbs at the gym in spite of getting Taxotere every 3 weeks as my tumors continue to shrink. I also know I am "riding the wagon till the wheels fall off" but that is my choice.

    Hope this helps or at lest makes for good reading.

    Best

    Mike

  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #7
    luv4lacrosse said:

    My opinion only

    Dennis, I have never smoked or have used any tobacco products, but have had my share of drinks. Being in Senior Management in the Industrial Construction Industry, drinking and work can seem to go hand in hand. I'm actually watching the Cardinals lose to the Braves and having some beers as I type this. Way off course, but here is what my many docs have said, at least relative to HPV derived cancer. My previous medical team in STL and my current medical team in Austin TX. They get their respective HPV research from the Mayo Clinic and MD Anerson. "If your cancer is HPV derived, all of the previous smoking and drinking most likely did not cause your cancer, and continued smoking and drinking will  most likely not cause a return of cancer." I say this referencing "most likely" and I have metastatic H&N ca to the lung and Mediastynal nodes, and I continue to have HPV cell type so I tend to agree with what they say. I'm no expert, but I do still drink, and am on Pallarive care, but I confuse the S$&T out of my docs, as all of my bloodwork far exceeds expectation, I'm 5'9 210 lbs and can still bench 375 lbs and squat 615 lbs at the gym in spite of getting Taxotere every 3 weeks as my tumors continue to shrink. I also know I am "riding the wagon till the wheels fall off" but that is my choice.

    Hope this helps or at lest makes for good reading.

    Best

    Mike

    mike, what is Pallarive

    mike, what is Pallarive care?

    dj

  • Ron Silver
    Ron Silver Member Posts: 94
    #8
    luv4lacrosse said:

    My opinion only

    Dennis, I have never smoked or have used any tobacco products, but have had my share of drinks. Being in Senior Management in the Industrial Construction Industry, drinking and work can seem to go hand in hand. I'm actually watching the Cardinals lose to the Braves and having some beers as I type this. Way off course, but here is what my many docs have said, at least relative to HPV derived cancer. My previous medical team in STL and my current medical team in Austin TX. They get their respective HPV research from the Mayo Clinic and MD Anerson. "If your cancer is HPV derived, all of the previous smoking and drinking most likely did not cause your cancer, and continued smoking and drinking will  most likely not cause a return of cancer." I say this referencing "most likely" and I have metastatic H&N ca to the lung and Mediastynal nodes, and I continue to have HPV cell type so I tend to agree with what they say. I'm no expert, but I do still drink, and am on Pallarive care, but I confuse the S$&T out of my docs, as all of my bloodwork far exceeds expectation, I'm 5'9 210 lbs and can still bench 375 lbs and squat 615 lbs at the gym in spite of getting Taxotere every 3 weeks as my tumors continue to shrink. I also know I am "riding the wagon till the wheels fall off" but that is my choice.

    Hope this helps or at lest makes for good reading.

    Best

    Mike

    HPV Related or Not?

    I asked if mine was HPV related and I was told that "we don't test for that because it doesn't affect how we treat."  I could really feel the warmth emanating from that arrogant jerk.  I am nearly 16 weeks post treatment and I quess I will never know. 

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #9
    luv4lacrosse said:

    My opinion only

    Dennis, I have never smoked or have used any tobacco products, but have had my share of drinks. Being in Senior Management in the Industrial Construction Industry, drinking and work can seem to go hand in hand. I'm actually watching the Cardinals lose to the Braves and having some beers as I type this. Way off course, but here is what my many docs have said, at least relative to HPV derived cancer. My previous medical team in STL and my current medical team in Austin TX. They get their respective HPV research from the Mayo Clinic and MD Anerson. "If your cancer is HPV derived, all of the previous smoking and drinking most likely did not cause your cancer, and continued smoking and drinking will  most likely not cause a return of cancer." I say this referencing "most likely" and I have metastatic H&N ca to the lung and Mediastynal nodes, and I continue to have HPV cell type so I tend to agree with what they say. I'm no expert, but I do still drink, and am on Pallarive care, but I confuse the S$&T out of my docs, as all of my bloodwork far exceeds expectation, I'm 5'9 210 lbs and can still bench 375 lbs and squat 615 lbs at the gym in spite of getting Taxotere every 3 weeks as my tumors continue to shrink. I also know I am "riding the wagon till the wheels fall off" but that is my choice.

    Hope this helps or at lest makes for good reading.

    Best

    Mike

    Dang!

    Good Lord Mike! That's a helluva lot of weight! Taxotere or not! 

    "T"

  • TracyLynn72
    TracyLynn72 Member Posts: 839
    #10
    I used to smoke..

    a little over half a pack a day until I hear the words "you have a tumor" and I stopped immediately.  I asked the doctors if I had caused my own cancer by having a stupid, bad habit and he said that my type of cancer wasn't a "smoking cancer". Didn't matter to me....all the awful things I've been through this year has taken away ANY desire to smoke and honestly I like the way I smell much better now :)

  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #11
    TracyLynn72 said:

    I used to smoke..

    a little over half a pack a day until I hear the words "you have a tumor" and I stopped immediately.  I asked the doctors if I had caused my own cancer by having a stupid, bad habit and he said that my type of cancer wasn't a "smoking cancer". Didn't matter to me....all the awful things I've been through this year has taken away ANY desire to smoke and honestly I like the way I smell much better now :)

    congrats on quitting!!!  i'm

    congrats on quitting!!!  i'm glad it was so easy for you.  i hope everyone here who smokes can find the will to quit.

    dj

  • Duggie88
    Duggie88 Member Posts: 760 Member
    #12
    I quit

    I smoked a pack a day on weekends and 2 packs a day during the week driving truck. I quit January 22, 2000. I then came down with throat cancer in 2009. Doctor wasn't sure how I got it but stated more than likely it was the cigs. I looked at it as it didn't matter how I got it, it was more important to get rid of it. My wife still smokes and she was the one who took care of me. To this day I can't figure out why she hasn't quit. DJ even took noptice to the cig in her hand on my picture. I have thought about grabbing one of hers and threaten to light up to see what she would do. But then I think naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I ain't even gonna joke aboput it.

          Jeff

  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #13
    debbiejeanne said:

    mike, what is Pallarive

    mike, what is Pallarive care?

    dj

    Palliative care

    My cancer is no longer cureable, they can only continue to give me chemo until there are no more options.

  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #14
    luv4lacrosse said:

    Palliative care

    My cancer is no longer cureable, they can only continue to give me chemo until there are no more options.

    mike, i'm sooooo sorry to

    mike, i'm sooooo sorry to hear that!!  i will be praying 4 a miracle for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  God bless you.

    dj

     

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