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If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, your best bet to prolong a quality life is to quit puffing immediately. Lung cancer is usually diagnosed only in its advanced stages when the disease is more difficult to treat. But by immediately quitting smoking, a major cause of this cancer, a lung cancer patient can still experience significant benefits even at a late stage. Treatment of lung cancer includes surgery to remove the cancerous growths and/or chemo- or radiotherapy to kill cancerous cells that have spread around the body.
Better late than never
A lung cancer patient who has quit smoking could face fewer complications during surgery, and responds better to treatments, among other benefits, said Dr Kenneth Chan, Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
“Patients are able to function better in their daily lives and go through surgery with fewer complications. Some studies also suggest that these patients respond better to chemotherapy,” he said. In addition, the risk of developing other smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease and stroke is reduced. The damage that smoking does to the lungs cannot be reversed, but by quitting smoking, the deterioration of the lung function can be slowed to the rate associated with normal ageing, instead of continuing at an accelerated rate.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Singapore. On average, Singapore sees about 1,000 new cases of lung cancer every year. About 85 per cent of lung cancer cases in Singapore are smoking-related, with a small percentage of patients developing the disease from long-term exposure to second-hand smoke and cancer-causing chemicals such as asbestos.
A chronic relapsing disorder
Think you can quit smoking any time? Think again. Will power isn’t enough and someone trying to quit will need the help and support of friends and family, as well as trained advisors and medication if he wants to overcome his addiction successfully, said Dr Kenneth Chan.
“It is extremely difficult to quit on your own. Studies have shown that if a smoker tries to quit on his own, his chance of success is less than five per cent,” said Dr Chan. Smoking is a real physical addiction, with studies showing that an addiction to nicotine is as strong as a heroin or cocaine addiction, Dr Chan said.
Temptation, peer pressure, psychological dependence and force of habit are some other reasons why it’s difficult to quit smoking.
Dr Chan describes smoking as “a chronic relapsing disorder”. “It’s very easy to pick up a cigarette when you are under stress. Physical withdrawal symptoms exacerbate stress, which can only be relieved by smoking,” he said.
Often, the habit is so deeply ingrained in the smoker’s daily routine that he may feel something is seriously amiss if he doesn’t have a cigarette in his hand. “It’s like waking up and forgetting to have your usual morning coffee at breakfast,” he said. Not surprisingly, many smokers take two to three attempts before they are able to give up smoking for good.
Ref: U11 |