cancer in my family

[beyelzu]

the uk thread got me to thinking about cancer and something that i have recently come to realize that maybe i shouldnt smoke 3 packs a day, i know your thinking, why not, grady/bey

i found out a couple of weeks ago that my mom has lung cancer and that she will rpobably only have a couple of months to live, now she is undergoing chemo so maybe she will be ok. and in truth my mother and i arent close is the a gross understatement. i only recently, last couple of years, quit hating her for being a reprehensible human being. but she is going to die relatively soon and i dont know how i feel about it.

my grandfather died of lung cancer as well, sort of. he actually died from a self inflicted gunshot wound the day before my bday in 1988.

and at the time he had been diagnosed with cancer that had spread from his lungs to throughout his body.
so both my grandfather and mother got lung cancer and both were smokers. and i smoke 2-3 packs a day, i am planning on quitting on my 30th birthday, because it is still a ways away and i want to prolong smoking as long as i can without getting lung cancer because i really, really like smoking.

also all the cool kids are doing it.

[beyelzu]

so let's talk heredity, i dont want a sympathy thread, and after i reread the op, i realize that i made nowhere for the conversation to go.

who here is predisposed to do what?

[Leesifer]

I certainly can't be all high and mighty about this - I've a thread in the lifestyle forum about it - my husband has lung cancer and I still smoke - although not as much as I used to.

It's a fucker of an addiction and no mistake.

[cappuccino]

I understand it's an addiction and all that, but it's beyond me why anybody could really really like smoking. It stinks all the way to high heaven, chronic smokers reeks and I can smell them from several feet away and even after leaving the room, their nice smoker smell continues to linger. Sure people are polite and don't say anything...much but it's there, like a white elephant, or more accurate, a black elephant in the room.

Because all the cool kids are doing it is plain nonsense. The cool kids I knew were also doing it but I'm not smoking. Even so, not all of the cool kids were doing it as well. I've smoked before of course, when I'm drinking and in social settings, I may smoke maybe one stick or half but it's not a habit, and never will be. I can count the number of times I've smoked on my hands.

The thought alone of stinking; stinking clothing, stinking skin, stinking breath...you get the drift is enough to keep me far far away from the cigarettes.

I understand how getting addicted to cigarettes and struggling to stop is a bitch but I'll be honest with you, I lose a little respect for those who allowed themselves to get addicted in the first place and continue to say that they want to prolong smoking just because they love it and that the cool kids are doing it :rolleyes: You can't use addiction as an excuse to keep on smoking, you recognize that you have an addiction and you deal with it. Keeping on smoking and making feeble excuses is just lame.

I'm sure you'll still be thinking that when you're lying in the hospital ravaged by lung cancer.

[Sweetie]

I think we should gang up on the fucking cigarette companies for adding a whole bunch of unnecessary shit and nicotine just so they can keep lining their pockets while we get sick and find it harder and harder to quit.

Anyhoo, my Grandpa died of lung cancer, my uncle, just cancer though I think it was in his lungs too but it was mostly lymph nodes, and it was aggressive. He was diagnosed of and died of it in six months. Both of them were smokers but that one is also hereditary, we have to watch out for that one.

My husband's family too, a fair amount of hereditary cancer. His Grandma died a few years ago, breast and lymph node cancer which was very aggressive. That one is most definately hereditary. Good thing most of the bad things only transmit to daughter from mother because as it stands right now, at least there's no breast cancer in my family for me to give to myt daughters. (knocks on wood)

Outside of cancer, my kids carry a recessive gene for PKU, their father has a dominant and I'm not a carrier so. If one day they hook up with another carrier, a one in four chance their child will have PKU.

My sister has a mild case of narcolepsy, it apparently passed through the males to the females but I don't know how that works because it's from her father's side and we don't share a father so.

Other than that.

Seriously Bey, tomorrow is seven months smoke free for me. I think you meant that all the cool kids were quitting smoking, yes? I know I'm cool, hehe.

You want support, I'm here. It was bad. One of the doctor's said it's almost like you have to preprogram your DNA. Nobody who hasn't gone through it understands just how serious and how deep and how far the withdrawal symptoms go but it's so fucking worth it.

The second time I quit, I imagined myself when I was a non-smoker, a healthy and athletic fifteen year old. That was good because I can remember that far, how it was to live and never need a smoke. Most people though these days, have smoked for longer than they haven't smoked.

Some thoughts. More to come if you wish. :yup:

[beyelzu]

I understand it's an addiction and all that, but it's beyond me why anybody could really really like smoking. It stinks all the way to high heaven, chronic smokers reeks and I can smell them from several feet away and even after leaving the room, their nice smoker smell continues to linger. Sure people are polite and don't say anything...much but it's there, like a white elephant, or more accurate, a black elephant in the room.

nicotine feels good my friend, smoking makes me calmer and i do indeed enjoy it. i do not notice the smell of smoke at all, but i do notice the taste and some tobacco tastes damn fine. i dont smoke in your house or in your car, but i do subject anyone who rides in my car or is in my house to smoke. fuck em. they can choose not to be there, all well and good.

Because all the cool kids are doing it is plain nonsense. The cool kids I knew were also doing it but I'm not smoking. Even so, not all of the cool kids were doing it as well. I've smoked before of course, when I'm drinking and in social settings, I may smoke maybe one stick or half but it's not a habit, and never will be. I can count the number of times I've smoked on my hands.

dude, you win the award for missing the obvious joke, what fucktard in his late twenties would actually be smoking because the cool kids are? well, obviously, you think i am that fucktard.

The thought alone of stinking; stinking clothing, stinking skin, stinking breath...you get the drift is enough to keep me far far away from the cigarettes.

I understand how getting addicted to cigarettes and struggling to stop is a bitch but I'll be honest with you, I lose a little respect for those who allowed themselves to get addicted in the first place and continue to say that they want to prolong smoking just because they love it and that the cool kids are doing it :rolleyes: You can't use addiction as an excuse to keep on smoking, you recognize that you have an addiction and you deal with it. Keeping on smoking and making feeble excuses is just lame.

tell, you what, you post proof that i said that i am struggling to stop smoking and that stopping is a bitch or retract that erroneous statement. i said no such fucking thing. i like smoking, i just think that it might be in my best interest to quit. if i choose to quit, i will. no worries. every so often i take a sabbatical from smoking from a month to a year, i have never quit mind you. i am always careful to tell people that i have not quit smoking that i just want to take some time off. i do it to see if i can. i will not now and have never bitched that it is hard to quit smoking. if i didnt want to smoke, i fucking wouldnt. it really is that simple for me. i did not make feeble excuses about a fucking addiction. if you want to continue to put words in my mouth, then feel free to fuck off, otherwise please read the words that i have actually written. apologies will be accepted in thread or by pm.


thank you.

I'm sure you'll still be thinking that when you're lying in the hospital ravaged by lung cancer.[/QUOTE]

[cappuccino]

The nicotine and the other dirty substances are from tobacco leaves, you can't exactly get rid of that and still have cigarettes.

Personally, I think tobacco should be banned, the horrific health toll and the burden on the health system is more than sufficient reason to put tobacco on the black list.


beyelzu, you get no apologies from me, I think you're a fuckwit for saying you want to prolong smoking till your 30th birthday just because you like smoking in spite of having two family members with lung cancer to remind you.

[Leesifer]

[SNIP]i did not make feeble excuses about a fucking addiction.

That would've been me, I think.

[Leesifer]

The nicotine and the other dirty substances are from tobacco leaves, you can't exactly get rid of that and still have cigarettes.

Personally, I think tobacco should be banned, the horrific health toll and the burden on the health system is more than sufficient reason to put tobacco on the black list.

It'll never happen. The government makes more money on tobacco taxes than is spent on tobacco related illnesses.

[beyelzu]

sometimes, you really rock, sweetie.
i meant most of the time of course. :tmgrin:


I think we should gang up on the fucking cigarette companies for adding a whole bunch of unnecessary shit and nicotine just so they can keep lining their pockets while we get sick and find it harder and harder to quit.

Anyhoo, my Grandpa died of lung cancer, my uncle, just cancer though I think it was in his lungs too but it was mostly lymph nodes, and it was aggressive. He was diagnosed of and died of it in six months. Both of them were smokers but that one is also hereditary, we have to watch out for that one.

My husband's family too, a fair amount of hereditary cancer. His Grandma died a few years ago, breast and lymph node cancer which was very aggressive. That one is most definately hereditary. Good thing most of the bad things only transmit to daughter from mother because as it stands right now, at least there's no breast cancer in my family for me to give to myt daughters. (knocks on wood)

Outside of cancer, my kids carry a recessive gene for PKU, their father has a dominant and I'm not a carrier so. If one day they hook up with another carrier, a one in four chance their child will have PKU.

My sister has a mild case of narcolepsy, it apparently passed through the males to the females but I don't know how that works because it's from her father's side and we don't share a father so.

Other than that.

Seriously Bey, tomorrow is seven months smoke free for me. I think you meant that all the cool kids were quitting smoking, yes? I know I'm cool, hehe.

You want support, I'm here. It was bad. One of the doctor's said it's almost like you have to preprogram your DNA. Nobody who hasn't gone through it understands just how serious and how deep and how far the withdrawal symptoms go but it's so fucking worth it.

The second time I quit, I imagined myself when I was a non-smoker, a healthy and athletic fifteen year old. That was good because I can remember that far, how it was to live and never need a smoke. Most people though these days, have smoked for longer than they haven't smoked.

Some thoughts. More to come if you wish. :yup:
as i mentioned to the greek, i have taken sabbaticals from smoking in the past, the problem is that i really dont want to quit, i am just getting to a point where i think i should quit, to avoid prolonged health problems later. i can handle the withdrawal and in the past i always kept a pack of smokes around me and a lighter even when i wasnt smoking so i could start back at anytime.

one time when i wasnt smoking, on day 3 or 4 i woke up with a lit a cigarrette in my hand, in my sleep i had lit it.

that was kind of funny/weird. i put it out and didnt smoke for about 6 mo. i was irritable as hell for about 2 weeks and the first couple of days were kind of nightmarish but no big deal. i ate alot of altoids and sucked alot of cock to keep my mouth busy, the latter was a joke by the way for the jokedetecting challenged.

[Sweetie]

The nicotine and the other dirty substances are from tobacco leaves, you can't exactly get rid of that and still have cigarettes.

They add nicotine to the cigarettes so naturally, tobacco is addictive, but natural tobacco is not as addictive as the cigarettes we smoke today.

There are some things you can't get out of tobacco I'm sure, but there's no reason they need to be adding more bad things in.


You get no apologies from me, I think you're a fuckwit for saying you want to prolong smoking till your 30th birthday just because you like smoking in spite of having two family members with lung cancer to remind you.

I think it's easier said that done. I understand him on this.

[beyelzu]

The nicotine and the other dirty substances are from tobacco leaves, you can't exactly get rid of that and still have cigarettes.

Personally, I think tobacco should be banned, the horrific health toll and the burden on the health system is more than sufficient reason to put tobacco on the black list.


You get no apologies from me, I think you're a fuckwit for saying you want to prolong smoking till your 30th birthday just because you like smoking in spite of having two family members with lung cancer to remind you.
i think you are an asshole for not admitting that you were arguing against some other smoker that whined. i rarely do whining.

and for the record i have one family member with cancer the other one is fucking dead, i understand you are reading comprehension challenged, so i spelled it out for you.

the burden to health care is probably bullshit in my opinion, i have never seen any study comparing the health costs of living to eighty vs dying relatively young from smoking. until i do the case remains open as far as i am concerned. i would be willing to bet that the costs of chemo and dying in the hospital in your fifties or early sixties is far outweighed by the costs of prolonged care that many older people go through.

[Leesifer]

Just to clarify, I didn't realise saying

"I certainly can't be all high and mighty about this - I've a thread in the lifestyle forum about it - my husband has lung cancer and I still smoke - although not as much as I used to.

It's a fucker of an addiction and no mistake."

was whining.

If is was taken as me whining, it wasn't meant to be.

[cappuccino]

i think you are an asshole for not admitting that you were arguing against some other smoker that whined. i rarely do whining.

and for the record i have one family member with cancer the other one is fucking dead, i understand you are reading comprehension challenged, so i spelled it out for you.

the burden to health care is probably bullshit in my opinion, i have never seen any study comparing the health costs of living to eighty vs dying relatively young from smoking. until i do the case remains open as far as i am concerned. i would be willing to bet that the costs of chemo and dying in the hospital in your fifties or early sixties is far outweighed by the costs of prolonged care that many older people go through.

Not admitting what? I was addressing your and Leesifer's posts and nor did I think she was whining. I know I don't know what it's like being addicted to cigarettes but I see a lot of people who have successfully quit, I'm not saying it's easy to quit but I see you admitting you continue to enjoy smoking in spite of your family members having or had cancer which you've already said and I got it the first time thank you very much. Sorry if I'm not sympathetic to the fact that you're keeping on smoking. It's your life.

As for the health costs, I include lung cancer, other lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, impact of second-hand smoke on other people, environmental impact. Not to mention economic costs due to lost productivity. Smoking is number one preventable cause of premature death.

Versus the costs of living to 80s, um... you're aware that a large percentage of people live to very healthy 80s. I'd say that a significant fraction of the elderly heath burden comes from their lifestyle habits such as...smoking.

Shrug, whatever if you want to keep on smoking. It's a free world. I'd rather be healthy in my 80s instead of bedridden and hooked up to oxygen

[TomJoe]

... i smoke 2-3 packs a day, i am planning on quitting on my 30th birthday, because it is still a ways away and i want to prolong smoking as long as i can without getting lung cancer because i really, really like smoking.


The damage you are doing to your lungs now may already have (or will before you quit) set in motion processes which will result in cancer.

Then again, if it isn't smoking that'll get you, it'll be something else. Happens to all of us.

[Sweetie]

I like smoking, I just like breathing well better. :shrug:

Smoking is an enjoyable activity, but that's probably only because you have a craving and it satisfies a craving. You may come to like it for that purpose, inhaling smoke itself is not necessarily wonderful, but I like the sucking motion of inhaling a cigarette, putting the smoke to my lips, the taste. You come to like it I think.

[beyelzu]

no doubt,

breathing well, evidentally, is not on my list of priorities


but you certainly do come to enjoy the process of nicotine delivery

[Sweetie]

My husband still smokes. Yesterday I went for a walk in the sunshine and crisp fall air and I just caught a puff......though there were no puffs around. Just the idea of the smell or lighting one up was pleasurable......though impossible. If I had a smoke today I would be sooooooooo sick, lol.

[Sweetie]

Mmmmmmmm, yummy.......*inhales imaginary smoke*

[Sweetie]

I know a woman that after like twenty years of not smoking I think she says it is, she says she still wakes up craving a morning smoke.

My Mom has quit for three years and a month or so ago she was so upset about something and she had been craving regularily that she kept asking for a smoke, and everybody was like "no way!" Finally one night, she was just so upset, I told my sister, "give her a fucking smoke already."

My sister gave her one, my Mom lost her cookies. :roflmao: She says it was the best thing that ever happened to her, she was sooooo sick, and in the morning it was almost worse. Drinking, having all that crap in her lungs, and then the taste of stale smoke in her mouth, and the other.......I don't think she'll ever smoke again, hehe.

[Adora]

who here is predisposed to do what?
You're not predisposed to anything, if your relatives died from lung cancer caused by smoking. You use your will and choice to pick up a smoke and put it in your mouth. It's simply a case of creating a will strong enough not to do it. This takes effort, and in a lot of cases, peer support, which is why there are groups & helplines in my country for quitters several of my friends work for (don't know about your country, though).

I hope your mother gets the chance to live. If you're doing 3 packs a day, there's a seriously chance you won't, in the long run. It's your choice, but I don't know why you'd choose to die in such a way. I watched my grandfather die from lung cancer caused by pipe smoking, and the worst part was listening to him wheeze and cough all the time.

[Dingfod]

My paternal grandfather smoked a couple packs a day and died of emphysema at age 58. My maternal grandfather chain smoked 3 packs a day and died at age 65 of smoking induced congestive heart failure. My non-smoking maternal grandmother lived with a smoker for almost 40 years and died of a stroke at age 58. My Uncle Bob, my mother's only sibling, smoked heavily for 30 years (age 15-45) and died at age 60 of a heart attack even though he hadn't smoked in 15 years and was physically fit. No cancer at all anywhere though. If you are in a family predisposed to lung cancer, I wouldn't smoke at all if I were you. But, I am not you, so do what you will.

[beyelzu]

who here is predisposed to do what?
You're not predisposed to anything, if your relatives died from lung cancer caused by smoking. You use your will and choice to pick up a smoke and put it in your mouth. It's simply a case of creating a will strong enough not to do it. This takes effort, and in a lot of cases, peer support, which is why there are groups & helplines in my country for quitters several of my friends work for (don't know about your country, though).

i just kind of assumed that there is a genetic aspect to lung cancer, as there is to a great many things. obviously, smoking is the big thing. for me, it is a matter of me actually wanting to quit. i dont. I am beginning to think that i should quit but that is something else entirely, but maybe i will want to in the future.

I hope your mother gets the chance to live. If you're doing 3 packs a day, there's a seriously chance you won't, in the long run. It's your choice, but I don't know why you'd choose to die in such a way. I watched my grandfather die from lung cancer caused by pipe smoking, and the worst part was listening to him wheeze and cough all the time.yeah, anytime i catch a cold which isnt very often, i will carry a nasty cough for a couple of weeks after i get better.

[Adora]

i just kind of assumed that there is a genetic aspect to lung cancer, as there is to a great many things.
Yes, but the thing is it's in the definite minority of cases (anywhere from 1-10%, depending on who you ask). 9/10 times it's just because the sufferer was a smoker.

Nobody can make you quit, and you do have to want to, but really, what does smoking do for you that outweighs the health risks?