“at the time of lung cancer diagnosis, patients may feel discouraged to quit smoking as they might think it is too late and there is no point in quitting smoking because they have already been diagnosed with cancer,” said paul brennan, principal investigator of the study and part of the international agency for research on cancer. “these new results strongly suggest that patients with lung cancer who smoke should be encouraged to stop smoking at any time and at each visit after diagnosis, regardless of their tumour stage, treatment status or smoking intensity.”
lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in canada and the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the country,
according to the canadian cancer society
. just under 30,000 canadians were diagnosed in 2020 with over 21,000 succumbing to the disease last year. around 81 canadians, on average, are diagnosed with lung cancer — with another 58 dying — each and every day.
for some patients, a diagnosis is all the motivation they need to make serious changes, no matter how hard they may be. “it’s the biggest reason i’ve ever had in my life to quit,” said preston browning, a 20-year-old electrician in ridgetop, tenn., who finally kicked the habit while recovering from cancer surgery last month — with help from a smoking-cessation drug. browning, who had been addicted to cigarettes since the age of 14, also received a big assist from tobacco treatment specialists who taught him a few useful strategies, such as eating breakfast instead of lighting up in the morning and reaching for a toothpick instead of tobacco after lunch.
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