Any former Chantix users

Topher67
Topher67 Member Posts: 19
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
This may just be a huge coincidence but a friend of mine asked me the other day how long ago it was that I took Chantix to stop smoking, about a 1 1/2 yrs now, and he told me that I was the 5th person he knows that developed some form of cancer within 2 yrs of stopping Chantix. Was wondering if anyone has noticed this coincidence. I'm sure that if you asked anyone in the medical field they would say it was the smoking, not the Chantix, that caused the cancer. It just seems like a strange coincidence to me..
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Comments

  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #2
    I know many people that used Chantix
    None of them have cancer.

    Me - nonsmoker - never used Chantix. I have cancer.
  • 1SW
    1SW Member Posts: 1
    #3
    Chantix and Cancer
    Both my husband and I took Chantix to assist with smoking cessation.
    We were thrilled to be non-smokers.

    But, in reading the article on Chantix and cancer, I want to weigh in with some information.

    I quit two years ago on February 5, 2008.
    My husband quit one year agod last month, December 2009.

    Three months after I quit I was diagnosed with zero stage breast cancer. It was a very aggressive cancer ready to attack my body. It was found during a routine mammogram as part of a yearly physical. I seem to be free of cancer since surgery to remove the lump.

    My husband had his last annual physical in May 2009.
    I buried him on Friday, January 22, 2010.
    He had been going to the doctor for spasms that started in his calves, moved to his thighs, groin, arms, chest and seemed to settle in his back.

    We went on vacation from December 25-January 2. He went to the doctor again on Monday, January 4 reporting the same symptoms as before...only worse. He was direct admitted to the hospital and within hours was diagnosed with widespread cancer.

    Fifteen days later, he died.

    We are still in shock.

    I can't say that Chantix or any other product was responsible for him developing this type of cancer. But, I can't help but wonder.

    1SW (One Sad Widow)
  • Crow71
    Crow71 Member Posts: 679 Member
    #4
    1SW said:

    Chantix and Cancer
    Both my husband and I took Chantix to assist with smoking cessation.
    We were thrilled to be non-smokers.

    But, in reading the article on Chantix and cancer, I want to weigh in with some information.

    I quit two years ago on February 5, 2008.
    My husband quit one year agod last month, December 2009.

    Three months after I quit I was diagnosed with zero stage breast cancer. It was a very aggressive cancer ready to attack my body. It was found during a routine mammogram as part of a yearly physical. I seem to be free of cancer since surgery to remove the lump.

    My husband had his last annual physical in May 2009.
    I buried him on Friday, January 22, 2010.
    He had been going to the doctor for spasms that started in his calves, moved to his thighs, groin, arms, chest and seemed to settle in his back.

    We went on vacation from December 25-January 2. He went to the doctor again on Monday, January 4 reporting the same symptoms as before...only worse. He was direct admitted to the hospital and within hours was diagnosed with widespread cancer.

    Fifteen days later, he died.

    We are still in shock.

    I can't say that Chantix or any other product was responsible for him developing this type of cancer. But, I can't help but wonder.

    1SW (One Sad Widow)

    So sorry
    I'm terribly sorry that you lost your husband. I've never heard of such a quick decline. Thank you for sharing.
    Take care and stay strong.
    Roger
  • lcarper2
    lcarper2 Member Posts: 635 Member
    #5
    Crow71 said:

    So sorry
    I'm terribly sorry that you lost your husband. I've never heard of such a quick decline. Thank you for sharing.
    Take care and stay strong.
    Roger

    sorry
    So sorry for your loss I know 3 people who have taken that drug and quite smoking only to get cancer one friends husband it being tested now for brain cancer he has trimmers very bad and head aches that put him out like a hit to the head MRI showed alot of nerve damage to his brain...there could be a conection
  • Patteee
    Patteee Member Posts: 945
    #6
    I am an ex-smoker, quit over
    I am an ex-smoker, quit over 3 years ago and then dx'd with colon cancer 21 months ago, about 18 months after I quit. Never used Chantix.
    I would wager that the relationship you are seeing is actually the smoking leads to cancer one, not the drug one used to stop smoking led to the cancer. Those who want to focus on it must be the Chantix, they sound as though they are in denial over the serious health risk that smoking is. Has to be something else!
  • lcarper2
    lcarper2 Member Posts: 635 Member
    #7
    Patteee said:

    I am an ex-smoker, quit over
    I am an ex-smoker, quit over 3 years ago and then dx'd with colon cancer 21 months ago, about 18 months after I quit. Never used Chantix.
    I would wager that the relationship you are seeing is actually the smoking leads to cancer one, not the drug one used to stop smoking led to the cancer. Those who want to focus on it must be the Chantix, they sound as though they are in denial over the serious health risk that smoking is. Has to be something else!

    x-smoker
    I know for a fact chantix can and will make you a diabetic because it will kill yopur pancres. little known side effect they fail to tell you...
  • shurdenk
    shurdenk Member Posts: 1
    #8
    Chantix and cancer
    This is more than a coincidence! My brother, his sister-in-law, and a friend in our home town have all recently died from cancer after taking Chantix. They each took Chantix, then went back to smoking, then immediately developed aggressive lung cancer. We lost them all in less than 12 months after their diagnosis. We are convinced that Chantix triggered the cancer, even though they were all at high risk by being lifelong smokers.

    We have no doubt that someone in the scientific/medical community needs to be looking at this link. How do we make this happen?
  • shipphysics
    shipphysics Member Posts: 1
    #9
    I am Suspicious
    My friend just finished taking chantix and within a week discovered a lump and was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer... stage I.

    She has a family history of breast cancer, so has gotten regular screening... doctors were surprised that this developed so quickly.

    Although she successfully quit smoking, at what cost?
  • lcarper2
    lcarper2 Member Posts: 635 Member
    #10
    shipphysics said:

    I am Suspicious
    My friend just finished taking chantix and within a week discovered a lump and was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer... stage I.

    She has a family history of breast cancer, so has gotten regular screening... doctors were surprised that this developed so quickly.

    Although she successfully quit smoking, at what cost?

    I am scared
    My husband is having bladder cancer surgery tomorrow and when he gets recovered he has a full prescription of chantix to start...I am wanting him to quite but I am wondering if this should be the mode for him to take...
  • dorookie
    dorookie Member Posts: 1,731 Member
    #11
    INteresting
    I used chantix too, and 6 months after stopping it I was DX with Colon cancer, however saying that, I was also told that my tumor was probably growing for about 8 years, so I dont think Chantix had anything to do with it, but it does make you wonder...
  • KGates
    KGates Member Posts: 1
    #12
    Chantix
    I know several people that took Chantix and quit smoking. Suddenly they had stage 4 lung cancer and were dead in 3-4 months. I suspected it immediately the first time. When I hear that someone has lung cancer now, I ask them if they were on Chantix. No one will pay attention to it because they all smoked.
  • Kerry S
    Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
    #13
    My body likes it
    That just goes to show you why I still smoke like a chimney. My body likes it.

    Kerry
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #14
    Not Proven Fact
    All these people that claim they have taken this and now have cancer is false. My cancer was slow growing so therefore it was growing years before taking Chantix. Loved that drug and the weird dreams it gave me. Wow it was awesome LOL but did love it and it helped me quit. There is 5 people that have taken it that I'm associated with and none of them have cancer. People associate "ANYTHING" with cancer and sometimes that can be so boring and unfactual. If you want to quit smoking - go for the Chantix and enjoy the vivid dreams :)

    Kim
  • dorookie
    dorookie Member Posts: 1,731 Member
    #15
    Annabelle41415 said:

    Not Proven Fact
    All these people that claim they have taken this and now have cancer is false. My cancer was slow growing so therefore it was growing years before taking Chantix. Loved that drug and the weird dreams it gave me. Wow it was awesome LOL but did love it and it helped me quit. There is 5 people that have taken it that I'm associated with and none of them have cancer. People associate "ANYTHING" with cancer and sometimes that can be so boring and unfactual. If you want to quit smoking - go for the Chantix and enjoy the vivid dreams :)

    Kim

    I might try it again
    Been trying the welbutrin, but not working so well. Guess it cant hurt as I have already gotten cancer and got rid of it...LOL

    Beth
  • neon356
    neon356 Member Posts: 137 Member
    #16
    dorookie said:

    I might try it again
    Been trying the welbutrin, but not working so well. Guess it cant hurt as I have already gotten cancer and got rid of it...LOL

    Beth

    I tried Welbutrin first

    I tried the Welbutrin and it caused seizures. Told my Doc about it and he said he never heard of that. I checked the pamphlet that came with the drug and sure enough it reported seizures and I stopped taking it immediately. A few months later I started the Chantix and it worked great. It does cause vivid dreams, for sure, which I too enjoyed.
    Carl
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #17
    neon356 said:

    I tried Welbutrin first

    I tried the Welbutrin and it caused seizures. Told my Doc about it and he said he never heard of that. I checked the pamphlet that came with the drug and sure enough it reported seizures and I stopped taking it immediately. A few months later I started the Chantix and it worked great. It does cause vivid dreams, for sure, which I too enjoyed.
    Carl

    Same here with seizures........
    Wife tried Welbutrin.....boom, seizure...she never tries Chantix but quit smoking on her own after I did...She does however have a low seizure threshhold and has been neurologically hooked up to find that she have spikes in her brain waves that if triggered she goes into a stupor and passes out, breathing goes very shallow...she nows takes Vimpat twice daily, once in the morning and one before bed and it has controlled the spikes now for over a year with no seizures ...
  • TinaAK
    TinaAK Member Posts: 4
    #18
    Yes.

    I was diagnosed with anal cancer within one year of taking Chantix.

    I have also suspected that Chantis was the problem.

    When I called the phone number that is given with the Chantis to report any side affects that are not listed, I told them I was having rectal bleeding.  They replied that that was not one of the symptoms being reported.  I said, "I'm reporting it now."  And they again, said it wasn't one of the sypmtoms and hung up on me.

     

     

  • TinaAK
    TinaAK Member Posts: 4
    #19
    Kathryn_in_MN said:

    I know many people that used Chantix
    None of them have cancer.

    Me - nonsmoker - never used Chantix. I have cancer.

    I developed rectal bleeding

    I developed rectal bleeding while on chantix.  Had had no previous problems in this area.  within a year of taking chantix I develope anal cancer.

    Just because you don't know of anyone does not mean it's not Chantix that's causing it.

     

     

     

  • TinaAK
    TinaAK Member Posts: 4
    #20
    Annabelle41415 said:

    Not Proven Fact
    All these people that claim they have taken this and now have cancer is false. My cancer was slow growing so therefore it was growing years before taking Chantix. Loved that drug and the weird dreams it gave me. Wow it was awesome LOL but did love it and it helped me quit. There is 5 people that have taken it that I'm associated with and none of them have cancer. People associate "ANYTHING" with cancer and sometimes that can be so boring and unfactual. If you want to quit smoking - go for the Chantix and enjoy the vivid dreams :)

    Kim

    All Clear Colonoscopy

    Had an all clear colonoscopy 1 year prior to being diagnosed with anal cancer.  I firmly believe it was the Chantix.  When I called the hotline number to report symptoms not listed, I told them I had rectal bleeding and they told me that wasn't one of the symptoms being reported.  I said, "I'm reporting it now!"  They told me again that wasn't one of the symptoms and hung up on me.

  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    #21
    TinaAK said:

    Yes.

    I was diagnosed with anal cancer within one year of taking Chantix.

    I have also suspected that Chantis was the problem.

    When I called the phone number that is given with the Chantis to report any side affects that are not listed, I told them I was having rectal bleeding.  They replied that that was not one of the symptoms being reported.  I said, "I'm reporting it now."  And they again, said it wasn't one of the sypmtoms and hung up on me.

     

     

    Tina

    Hello, Was there HPV in the anal tumor?  Typically thats how anal cancer gets started.  Smoking is one of the causes of anal cancer as well. 

    I am a 6 year anal cancer and 5 year lung cancer survivor.  HPV was in the anal cancer but not the lung.  I was a 35 year smoker until the anal cancer dx on 5-4-09.

    I never used chantix, I used nicorette gum.

    I wish you well. Lori

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