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:
c.
https://www.quitnow.ca/tools-and-resources/quitting-medications/free-nicotine-products-and-drugs.php
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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