Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Weapons of Mass Destruction


Now that you know what lung adenocarcinoma is, let’s discuss what may have caused the lung cancer. This is not meant to guilt trip you or point fingers, it is simply to help you understand why and to inspire a change in your lifestyle.  First and foremost it is important to remember that you are not alone. Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer diagnosed world wide, and it accounts for 40% of all lung cancers diagnosed in the United States. 2  Why? Well, the American Thoracic Society published an article stating that smoking tobacco is the leading cause of adenocarcinoma in the lungs. And wouldn’t you know it, “nearly 18 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (17.8%) currently smoke cigarettes”, according to a census done by the CDC in January 2015.  This means an estimated 42.1 million adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes.1 The age one starts smoking, number of years one smokes, and the amount one smokes are all factors that can affect the development of lung cancer.3
 
I know you've probably seen a million and one commericals that promote quitting smoking, however I wanted to share this one because it was not aired in the United States and I found it to be very powerful.
            Well, you cannot rely on the tobacco companies to make quitting smoking any easier for you.  However, especially with a diagnosis of lung cancer, quitting smoking is essential to begin the healing process. The first, and most important step in quitting smoking is making the decision to quit and committing to your choice. This means you WANT to quit, and you build a support system of friends and family who share your goals and will be disciplined when it comes to ensuring you stop smoking.  There are 5 main ways to quit that I will be talking about today.
1.     Quitting cold turkey.  This means that you put down that cigarette now, and never pick one back up again, using only the strength in your mind.  No medication, no support groups – you just stop. According to an article written on WebMD, 90% of first time quitters try to kick the habit this way.  Unfortunately, the success rate of this method is very low and only 4-7% of people are actually able to stop smoking cold turkey.4
2.     Behavioral Replacement Therapy – This is where you will work 1 on 1 with a counselor to address the social, financial and emotional issues involved with smoking and help develop a personalized plan to quit. They can serve as a great accountability partner, who will keep you in check.  Sessions with tobacco cessation counselors can be done online, over the phone or face-to-face. You can visit this website to find an online or over the phone counselor, http://www.alerewellbeing.com/quit-for-life/ .  If you don’t like this site, there are numerous others that provide the same services. Just googling “help me quit smoking” will bring you to many sites where you can join support groups and get a counselor to help you today. You can also talk with your physician and they will be able to set you up with the right counselor to speak with in person.
3.     Nicotine Replacement Therapy – This involves using substances that have nicotine without the tobacco. This is important because nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes that gives you the buzz and the cravings for more. Nicotine gum, patches, inhalers, sprays, and lozenges are all nicotine replacement therapies that can help with cravings and withdrawal symptoms. They’re designed to slowly wean you off nicotine completely and have proven to have a 25% success rate.4 These are available over the counter, and there are many websites you can get them for free! Here are a few to help you get started:
4.     Medication – Sometimes, using nicotine replacement therapy is not enough to help you quit. There are prescribed medications that you can receive to help you quit. You will need to visit a doctor before getting a prescription, but this is very helpful as physicians have a variety of great resources for you in addition to medication.  The two most commonly used medications are Zyban and Chantix and both have proven to work very well.4
5.     Combination Therapy – This therapy is the most successful therapy for those who are trying to quit smoking cigarettes.  This is a combination of any or all the therapies mentioned above, and is the most highly recommended therapy for smokers as it has a 60% success rate. 4
Now, although your desire to quit can be very strong, the addiction can be even stronger and it may be difficult to resist smoking. If you relapse do not feel ashamed. It is actually a very common part of the quitting process. The goal is to eventually quit, however the road to quitting is long and hard and there are bound to be a few hiccups along the way.  Just try to smoke as little as possible until you are ready to quit completely again. It may be difficult but I can assure you that quitting is worth it.

Works Cited 

1. Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
(2015, January 23). Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States. Retrieved June 24, 2015, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:

2. What Is Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. (n.d.). In Lung Cancer. (Excerpted from American Cancer Society, 2014)
3. What You Need To Know About Lung Cancer [Pamphlet]. (2012). US Department of Health and Human Services/National Institutes of Health.
4. Ratini, M., DO, MS. (2014, September 16). How to quit smoking. Retrieved June 24,    2015, from WebMD website:




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