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Quit Smoking to speed up the recovery from Lung Cancer!

Cigarette smoking is the cause of about ninety percent of lung cancers. Although there is increased awareness in the society today about the ill effects of smoking and most cities have banned smoking in public places, smoking seems to remain an unceasing trait amongst the smokers and a matter of serious public health concern.Lung Cancer refers to the cancer of lungs and involves uncontrollable growth of the cells present in the lung tissues. Damage to lungs is the most common among the adverse effects of smoking. Today lung cancer constitutes the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. It is found that about 50 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer are smokers at the time of diagnosis and up to 83 percent of patients continue to smoke even after the diagnosis of this dreadful disease.

A recent study describes the benefits of smoking cessation for lung cancer patients and the components of the smoking cessation programs, with consideration of tailoring to the needs of lung cancer patients. The study also emphasizes on the cost effectiveness of the smoking cessation program. The findings of the study suggest that patients who continue to smoke after a diagnosis of an early-stage lung cancer stand almost twice the risk of dying. Smoking cessation program offers substantial benefits to the patients, and yet tobacco dependence still remains a challenge for many lung cancer patients. In this regard cancer care centers must offer complete support and intensive treatment procedures for the patients along with a smoking cessation program.

Smoking cessation intervention for lung cancer patients is found to yield both short-term benefits (improved supply & circulation of oxygen, lowered blood pressure, improved smell, taste and breathing et al) and long-term benefits (Decreased Risk of Disease and increased survival time). The study has come up with a tobacco dependence treatment plan for lung cancer patients. In spite of increased evidence that continued smoking by patients after diagnosis of lung cancer lead to a lesser effective treatment and a poorer prognosis, the notion prevails that dealing with tobacco dependence is futile.

Survival rates amongst lung cancer patient have been bettering every year. Newer treatments involving the use of anticancer agents carry the potential to increase the number of lung cancer survivors. As the survival rates of the lung cancer patients rises, they are more likely to benefit from the improved quality of life that smoking cessation can bring about.Earlier, abstinence from smoking was not considered as an important step in the treatment of lung cancer. But today, with the advent of bettered cancer treatments and ever improving survival rates, smoking cessation program has become increasingly significant among lung cancer patients.
 
Reference:
Smoking Cessation: An Integral Part of Lung Cancer Treatment-A study by Janine K. Cataldo,* Sarita Dubey, and Jodi J. Prochaska conducted at Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, USA. For more information, please visit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2945268/?tool=pubmed

Disclaimer: This article is written by a non-medical professional.