When a patient is diagnosed with cancer the main focus is to treat the disease. Stopping smoking after being diagnosed is also important because it can negatively impact the patient’s response to treatment, their risk of developing cancer in the future, and their survival.
A new study published in the early online CANCER journal of the American Cancer Society found that a significant number of patients with lung and colorectal cancer continued to smoke after being diagnosed.
Researchers looked at the smoking rates in 5,338 patients with a new diagnosis of cancer and again five months later. At diagnosis 39 percent of lung cancer patients were still smoking as compared to 14 percent at five months. For colorectal cancer patients at diagnosis 14 percent were smoking and five months later 9 percent were still smoking. Further analysis revealed that colorectal cancer patients were less likely to stop smoking than lung cancer patients.
Other factors that served as predictors to continued smoking were found by cancer type. Lung cancer patients who continued to smoke were typically Medicare or public health insured patients, had a low weight to height ratio, limited emotional or social support, and did not receive chemotherapy or surgery. They often had a history of heart disease and smoked a high number of cigarettes per day at some point in their life.
Colorectal cancer patients who continued to smoke were usually male, had less education, and were uninsured. Like lung cancer patients they often had not undergone surgery and had smoked a high number of cigarettes per day.
Physicians can use these results to identify patients who may be at risk for continued smoking and provide smoking cessation programs, counseling or other services to help the patient stop.
Dr. Carolyn Dressler, of the Arkansas Department of Health, commented on how the study pointed out how critical it is for physicians and healthcare providers to assist their patients with smoking cessation at the time of diagnosis and after. By helping the patient through a smoking cessation program the physician can reduce the risk for, or even prevent a recurrence of the patient’s cancer. In addition, they can optimize the patient’s response to treatment and ultimately have a positive impact on the patient’s quality of life and survival.
If you are a smoker and living in California State, click here to access the California Smoker’s Hotline.
Other smoking cessation programs and materials can be found on the National Cancer Institute website by clicking here.
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