For those of you keeping track at home, I’ve been about six weeks without a cigarette during this latest quit attempt. Instead of smoking, I’ve developed the cross-addiction of obsessively reading the latest medical research about all the different ways in which smoking will kill you. This gives me a sense of relief that can, in a pinch, keep the cravings at bay.
And smugness. Smugness gives you a good buzz.
One of these recent studies caught my eye last week. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, writing in Cancer Research, described work that could lead to a urine test to identify smokers at a high risk of developing lung cancer.
Briefly, the group led by Jian-Min Yuan harvested data from two Chinese cohorts that included over 80,000 patients. Urine and blood samples were collected at the time of the study (about 20 years ago) and the participant answered a set of questions, including some regarding their smoking habits. For the Cancer Research paper, Yuan and his colleagues focused on about 250 smokers who had developed lung cancer and an equal number of smokers who did not.
They tested frozen urine from these sample sets for the levels of NNAL, a metabolite that has been shown to cause lung cancer in rats. Smokers who had the highest levels of NNAL present in their urine had an 8.5-fold increase in the risk of lung cancer compared with smokers with the lowest levels.
Yuan, in an interview with WebMD, said: “The idea is to build up a risk model that incorporates many of these biomarkers as well as smoking history, so we can best identify which smokers will eventually develop lung cancer.”
In other words, the ultimate goal would be a simple test that could be administered to smokers to determine their risk for lung cancer.
(As a brief aside, I learned from reading this paper that only 10 – 16% of smokers actually die from lung cancer*. A statistic to which my inner addict said, “Pretty good odds, let’s go have a smoke.”)
It was less the science of this particular paper that got my attention than the societal implications. If, as a smoker, your GP could tell you that you would definitely develop lung cancer soon, would you quit? How embedded is the denial?
Another issue that isn’t clear is that once these metabolites are detected, is there any hope of reversal? If your test reveals that you are highly likely to develop lung cancer, would quitting at that point do anything to change your fate?
It isn’t just lung cancer that medical researchers are working out ways to detect. There are currently more than 1,000 genetic tests available for early detection of diseases and hereditary conditions. If you had the inclination, time and money you could be tested for diseases ranging from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to Timothy Syndrome, with stops at Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Huntington’s Disease and Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy in between.
The question is: would you want to be?
Would you want to know, for example, in your mid-30’s that you were genetically predisposed to Alzheimers? As a teenage girl, would you want to know your chances of developing breast cancer? Bearing in mind that most of these diseases are incurable, would you really want to know? Bearing in mind that in most cases these tests do not determine whether or not you will develop the disease but whether or not you are genetically predisposed to do so.
How about a different question – what about your kids? If you were an expectant parent would you want to know if your child was likely to develop Fragile X syndrome or Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy?* What about if the tests could be done at an early stage of pregnancy?
It’s a different kettle of fish isn’t it?
Don’t get me wrong, I think genetic testing is a fantastic scientific advance and in a lot of cases is an essential diagnostic tool. But as the technology becomes cheaper and more readily available (I could test your likelihood of developing some types of breast cancer before lunch) and in the absence of any effective ‘cure’ for most of the diseases or conditions that can be detected are we just providing another source of anxiety for our already anxious species?
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* Yes, I know that lung cancer is only one of the things about smoking that will kill you. Yes, I know about emphysema, heart disease and on and on. But I could still murder a cigarette.
** For the record, I would say ‘no’ to the first set of questions and ‘yes’ to the second.
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My female vocal jazz kick continues. Nobody has ever sung this song better than The High Priestess of Soul. Check out the “Ultimate Nina Simone” from 
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Not Afraid To Use It
by Jacob
05 May 2009 at 23:21
If there’s something I can do about it? Yes, tell me know so I can decided whether or not I feel like doing anything about it. If they found a prevention strategy for Alzheimers, hell yeah, I’d want to know I was prone to it. Cancer, not so much. I can handle dieing as an older man because I got cancer. The idea of slowly losing my mind terrifies me, but then I put very little of my sense of self into my body and almost all of it into my mind. Death scares me much less than brain damage.
I’m not sure with my child. If they could tell me before my wife was pregnant, that’d be great because I could forgo the kid or adopt. I’m not sure about during the pregnancy. Again, if there’s something that could be done about it, sure tell me asap. If not, why should I know any sooner than I have to? I may be pro-choice in a legal/political sense, but on a personal ethical level I’ve never been able to decide.
If you haven’t noticed, my disposition is to typically say “screw it” unless there’s anything I can do about it. It’s better to save the stomach ulcers for the things you actually have control over.
Jacobs last blog post..Why Do I Keep Watching the Horses?
by Jacob
05 May 2009 at 23:29
And my grandfather would still be alive if he’d never smoked, or at least smoked less than three-to-four packs a day like he did before he was 40 when he quit cold turkey when the doctor said he’d be dead in six months if he didn’t. The man was in his late-mid 80s when his self-induced lung damage finally did him in. Not a thing else was wrong with him. Never had a speck of cancer, brain was clear and bright until the instant he stopped breathing, no heart problem other than the murmur he’d had since childhood.
And if you think going from four packs a day to zero with no transition period or nicotine patches is badass, he also broke his hip about 5 years before he died. He tripped over his stupid puppy and fell in the carport when he was home alone. He actually pulled himself up into his full-size pickup truck and drove himself to the hospital. He did his own rehab at home and less than a year later was walking a mile a few times a week.
And yet he cried when that stupid dog died and couldn’t bring himself to put down a bull that broke its leg when my dad was a kid. He actually paid to keep the thing in a sling until its leg healed.
Jacobs last blog post..Why Do I Keep Watching the Horses?
by JChevais
05 May 2009 at 23:37
Hmm. My mom’s sister (so my aunt) died of lung cancer in August. Heavy smoker all her life, just like my mom.
My mom, consumed by grief, couldn’t understand how strange her continued heavy smoking was for me (a non smoker). After the funeral, I asked her if she was going to quit smoking. She asked why.
Um.
When I told her the obvious things, she asked why a friend of hers got cervical cancer though she had no vices?
I know it was her protecting her fix, her habit, her cigarettes, it was almost maniacally junky-like, but it still frustrated me. A lot.
That was rambly. I usually try to be coherent here and rambly on my own blog. Sorry.
by mongoliangirl
06 May 2009 at 00:30
I recommend being an orphan first, with no known family members to observe when it comes to how they die. You know, having a complete lack of information about my own biological family has been interesting. Sometimes vexing, sometimes giving me a wonderful feeling of being ‘tabula rasa’ and being able to co-create myself in a way that has no fear of ‘becoming just like mom or dad or crazy aunt so-and-so’.
So no. I don’t want to know.
For a child? I don’t want to know that either.
mongoliangirls last blog post..My checkin’ stick, a dog, and a drunk
by mjrc
06 May 2009 at 00:45
where i work, we treat a fair number of women who have had prophylactic bilateral mastectomies because they have the brac-1 or 2 gene and are almost guaranteed to develop breast cancer, usually pre-menopausal, which is pretty damn young. i think they are brave for doing it. i’m not sure i could make that decision for myself, although if i’d watched my mother, aunt, and sister die of breast cancer then i probably would.
i’m with jacob, i guess. if i knew they could do something about the disease they were testing for, then yes, i’d do it. if not, then, well, i think i’ll take my chances.
as far as testing when pregnant, i had alpha-fetal protein testing done with my first and it gave us some false positive results and subsequently, i didn’t have any done with the other two. if they had seen something through ultrasounds then i’m sure i would have done whatever it took to address the problems, but unless it would have been completely disabling or there was no chance of survival for the baby, then i probably would not have aborted.
i did watch my mother die of lung cancer and it is an ugly, horrible, awful way to go. my brother, who was also present, smoked then and smokes to this day, 12 years later. i can’t fathom it, but what are you gonna do?
mjrcs last blog post..Elephant Stone
by chris
06 May 2009 at 01:33
I think so many people automatically connect lung cancer with smoking because of our inherent fear of cancer when in fact, the number one cause of death in smokers is cardiovascular disease. Maybe smokers know and heart disease is easier to ignore because it seems more treatable.
As for knowing you are predisposed or likely to get a major disease, I would absolutely want to know. Many diseases, detected early respond well to drug therapy. Additionally there are lifestyle changes one could make that would make it less likely, perhaps cause a later onset if disease was inevitable or maybe reduce the severity. For instance, if I knew my risk for breast cancer was high, I would forgo the hormonal birth control pill for alternate conception or undergo a preventative mastectomy. If Alzheimer’s was on the docket, I would make sure to find my specialists early and research therapies while my brain was still functioning properly.
For me, information is always power and choices. If I knew I was slated for colon cancer or MS I’d fundraise the hell out of them.(kind of like Michael J Fox). Which brings up another point. If we all know what’s in store for us down the road, perhaps we’d be more emphatic about science funding. It would be far harder to see it as a future problem or someone else’s problem if you knew it would grace your dance card eventually, no?
By the way, congrats on the not smoking and yes, smugness has it’s own high. It gets better every day but the one thing I notice having not smoked for a few years now is how the severity of colds has lessened and how good my lungs feel when I get up in the morn or go for a hike.
chriss last blog post..Soapbox Part Deux
by Ginny
06 May 2009 at 01:38
I am so proud of you and your six weeks!!
Mostly, I don’t think I’d want to know. Because those predictors are all about percentages. And it turns out, I’m a bit of an optimist where those are concerned. I knew that as a person whose family has a history of mental illness, there was a chance I’d pass that onto any kids I’d have. But I went ahead and procreated.
by courtney
06 May 2009 at 01:55
Hmmm, this is interesting. I’d want to know how prone I am to certain diseases if there’s something I can do to prevent them, but if not, I wouldn’t want to know. You’re right, though — if I had a kid, it would be different. I guess it’s the difference between facing your own mortality and someone else’s.
On the other hand, as you said, we are an anxious species when it comes to death. Maybe genetic testing would help some of us accept that death is an inevitability. Maybe that would actually help alleviate some of our anxiety, who knows.
And congrats on your six weeks. That’s fantastic, especially since you’ve been so stressed over your job.
courtneys last blog post..And The Winner Is …
by Rol
06 May 2009 at 02:02
“They tested frozen urine…”
At last, someone who has a worse job than me!
Rols last blog post..Far North
by Jud
06 May 2009 at 02:11
Smoking has never held much of a fascination for me, thankfully. That said, I don’t care about some much about knowing if I am predisposed to some affliction down the road.
And I wouldn’t have wanted to know if my embryonic daughter might suffer from some malady. But that’s me.
So, uh, whatever happened to cheery Chris?
Juds last blog post..Simple Pleasures
by prefers her fantasy life
06 May 2009 at 03:06
After a certain age, I’d want to know. Like now. I’m seriously wondering if I’m on the early road to Alzheimer’s. More than ever I’m spelling things wrong, forgetting words and mixing up sentences. It makes for bad blogging.
prefers her fantasy lifes last blog post..Blog Behind The Blog
by Jason O.
06 May 2009 at 03:07
Freeman:
Three years ago: I quit. Do not, repeat, do not use gum, patches or any other fraudulent bullshit “aids” that have at best a 1/10 success rate.
Use Swedish snus. Smokeless tobacco, in pouches, that is steam cured (rather than fire cured). This is important…in study after study the Swedish government has approved snus as a smoking cessation aid.
When tobacco is cured with flame, it releases the cancer causing chemicals in the leaf, called TSNA’s or nitrosamines.
Snus is steam cured, and according to published studies (again, by the Swedish gov’t) 1 packet of snus has somewhere between 1/50th and 1/100th of the cancer causing TSNAs of one cigarette. Google it.
I used snus for about a year after I quit…it’s a nice nicotine shot when you need it. I recommend the Skruf brand, large portion snus.
http://www.thenortherner.com ships internationally, or it might be available locally in Australia.
Jason O.s last blog post..Selena Roberts on her Responsibility as a "Journalist"
by Jason O.
06 May 2009 at 03:10
Also try the Skruf portion tranbar (Cranberry flavored) snus: Sounds weird, tastes pretty good.
Jason O.s last blog post..Selena Roberts on her Responsibility as a "Journalist"
by Coal Miner's Granddaughter
06 May 2009 at 07:59
I don’t want to know. If there are no effective cures, then I don’t want to know, not my medical future nor those of my husband or children. If I wake up tomorrow and the news reports, “Heart Disease Cure! In The Bag!” and it’s definite? Then, sure, sign me up to be tested. But otherwise, I don’t want to know.
And what I find interesting is those people who have high levels of NNAL. Would those people develop lung cancer without ever smoking or being around second-hand smoke? Or is it just a smoking correlation at this point?
Coal Miner’s Granddaughters last blog post..Open Letter 9
by cIII
06 May 2009 at 08:10
Keep up the Good work Free man. 6 weeks is an eternity when trying to escape the Nicotine shackles.
I’ve tired and tried, but I’m still a slave to those 20 little Nogoodnicks.
I applaud you and your will to Stop.
Don’t let ever look back. Not even after a loose evening with a Pint or seven.
cIIIs last blog post..Get Your Hands Off Me, You Damn, Dirty Apes!
by The Unbearable Banishment
06 May 2009 at 08:19
Information = power. I’ll take any tidbit I can get regarding my gene pool. Actually, I think I only rank a gene puddle.
Do you listen to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings? I think you’d like them.
The Unbearable Banishments last blog post..why write jut one play when you are talented enough write a trilogy?
by Damon
06 May 2009 at 08:31
I wouldn’t want to know if I’m predisposed to a disease, genetic or otherwise. Why would I want to deny myself various edibles, intoxicating spirits or risky behaviors in the oft chance that I wouldn’t be stricken or my life would be extended? Forget about it. I could be struck down by a smart car crossing the street to retrieve the mail. Besides I do have to contend with being at a higher risk for colon cancer as this was what ultimately killed my father.
Damons last blog post..Help a guy out here. Mother’s Day is May 10th.
by Gwen
06 May 2009 at 09:06
Great post. I had a genetic test done 2 years ago – I tested positive for BRCA2 (genetic mutation which causes breast cancer in 90% of the women who have it). It was a tough choice, because it’s hard to know you have something in your body that is trying to kill you. But at the same time knowing I had that mutation empowered me to do something about it. I had the double mastectomy prophylactically last year. It was the most agonizing decision of my life and I still struggle with the fact that I had to do it. So, yeah, knowing about these genetic predispositions can really create a lot of anxiety and can make you feel forced to do pretty drastic things. At the same time, my risk for breast cancer went from 90% to about 1%. I’m sort of happy with those odds.
Gwens last blog post..Olivia, Electra
by Gwen
06 May 2009 at 09:08
P.S. Congratulations on the six weeks. My husband and mother are smokers and they have not been able to quit.
Gwens last blog post..Olivia, Electra
by Gwen
06 May 2009 at 09:17
Oh and one more thing (I know I’m a pain in the ass here) about this part of your post: “in the absence of any effective ‘cure’ for most of the diseases or conditions that can be detected are we just providing another source of anxiety for our already anxious species?”
There is no current “cure” for breast cancer and yet when you’re pretty sure you’re going to get it (90% is a pretty sure thing) then removal of breasts is a viable option that can save a life. Or regular screening, which can catch breast cancer, or any other cancer, early. The earlier you catch it, the better. Yes, it creates anxiety. But anxiety serves a purpose as it can be protective. We are all going to die of something, sure, and it doesn’t help to be overly worried about disease but if we can prevent disease surely that’s worth the anxiety. I’m a little biased on this issue, obviously. But I watched my sister die of breast cancer at 34 and I get to (hopefully) escape that fate because of what I now know. Progress in this area is definitely a good thing for humanity. (Although my continued existence might not be the best example of a “good thing for humanity” : )
Gwens last blog post..Olivia, Electra
by People in the Sun
06 May 2009 at 09:29
When I wanted to quit, cigarette companies bosses were fatcats who tried to kill me because they were evil Republican scum.
And I was the last smoker in the world. The last one still buying their smoking-is-cool bullshit.
Then when I actually quit, they became these nice people sitting around a table, and the topic of conversation was, “How can we make him happy?”
And everyone was still smoking. And I wasn’t cool anymore.
I guess it’s one of the stages. It’s been more than two years now. From a pack a day. Really, if I could do it, anyone can. I just had to find a different way to look cool. I haven’t found it yet, though. Toothpicks?
People in the Suns last blog post..On an Investigation into the Politics of Torture
by Danielle
06 May 2009 at 10:46
You’ve got lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease covered but you’re forgetting laryngeal cancer and jaw/face cancer where you have to have portions of your bones removed sometimes including the nose. not fun
Also stroke, etc.
Both of my mom’s parents died from smoking related causes. (Emphysema and lung cancer.) My grandmother lived with us for a few of her last years, constantly on the vaporizer and going to the hospital in an ambulance because she couldn’t breathe. My mom still smokes. After my grandparents died from it and when I was still young I used to throw away whole cartons of her cigarettes and cry because I didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop. Ironically, she did quit once to my memory when I was younger, but the death of her father from lung cancer was so stressful that she started again. I tried smoking in high school and college, but it didn’t do anything for me strangely (and luckily) so it was easier to stop than to keep going.
And speaking of genetics, my other grandfather died of Alzheimer’s, and grandmother of leukemia, and ovarian cancer runs in my family. To answer your question, I think I’d want to know if I was genetically predisposed. As said before there are usually lifestyle changes you can make. Medicine, exercise, not binge drinking, keeping the mind active, etc.
As for children…. that’s a toughie.
Danielles last blog post..Crispy Sage Potatoes with Fried Eggs
by Southern (in)Sanity
06 May 2009 at 10:55
You bring up some very good points about decisions people will face as technology and science continues to advance.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to know. Why worry about something else in my life? Last time I checked, everybody dies sooner or later; nobody lives forever.
As for kids, I’m probably not qualified to voice an opinion on that one since I don’t have any.
by admin
06 May 2009 at 12:13
Jacob – I have the same pro-choice agenda. Personally, I’d have a hard time making that decision but I definitely think people should have the option to make the decision.
And that’s a great story about your grandad – hard guy.
J Chev – That’s a perfect example of the denial I was talking about!
Mongola – I didn’t know you were an orphan, interesting attitude. I would wonder if not knowing your parents would make you more inclined to want to know.
MJRC – I didn’t think about the tendency toward false positives and/or negatives. And as you and Gwen pointed out sometimes you can do something about the results. But prophylactic treatment isn’t a ‘cure’. But then that’s me being a pedant.
Chris – All good points in favor of getting tests. I think if I knew I was slated for something like Alzheimers I would try and make more out of every day, but then there would be a part of you that just quivered in the corner waiting for it to hit. God, this is all a bit morbid isn’t it?
Ginny – That’s a good point. I know I have a genetic predisposition to short sightedness, male pattern baldness and a number of other things, but still went on and bred. Of course, I’m hoping Dr. O’C’s alleles are dominant to mine…
Courtney – I guess it’s where your anxiety stems from. I don’t think I’d want to know – at this point in my life – what I’m going to die from.
Rol – A damn fine point.
Jud – Yeah, I just realized I’ve been a bit of a pessimist lately. Fucking job.
Prefers – Thinking about it, I may want to know at a certain age as well. Early detection sometimes makes these things more treatable. I should clarify. I’m by no means ‘opposed’ to genetic testing. I think it’s a great tool – it’s just that I wouldn’t want to know personally.
Jason – I don’t know that snus is a great alternative – lots of oral cancers associated with any kind of tobacco use in the mouth (snuff, chaw, snus, what have you). I like these little nicotine lozenges, they seem to do the job.
CMGD – NNAL is a breakdown product of one of the common toxins in cigarette smoke so you have to have some kind of exposure to it. I don’t know about second hand smoke, I’ve never bought into that. I guess it depends what you mean by second hand smoke. A child growing up with parents that are heavy smokers – sure. Briefly sitting next to someone in a restaurant who is smoking? Come on.
cIII – What’s annoying is that I had quit for 18 months. Then I started again, a fact that I’m beginning to attribute to spending a load of time around smokers.
TUB – I’ll check out the musical recommendation.
Damon – I’m with you. I want to enjoy my life as much as possible, if I know I’m genetically predisposed to something I may spend years not doing something that gives me joy even to still develop that condition.
Gwen – Well put, in fact you’ve given a great argument to the utility of these tests. Again, I’m not opposed to genetic testing at all – just wouldn’t choose to have one myself. And a 90% to 1% likelihood is as close to a ‘cure’ for breast cancer that is available anywhere currently.
By no means are you a pain in the ass!
PIS – I haven’t been cool for at least a decade. I think I had about 9 months of cool in my time – it was glorious. But I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m no longer cool and likely never will be again. In fact, once you become a Dad you’re uncool by definition.
SIS – That’s my thing, I have plenty to worry about. Knowing that I have a 65% chance of developing Alzheimers at 55 would just be one more damn thing.
by heather
06 May 2009 at 13:44
I think I would like to know.
heathers last blog post..Look Here for NYC
by Siren
06 May 2009 at 14:29
Congrats on 6 weeks.
Sirens last blog post..Idiot Girl Needs Love Too!
by SSG
06 May 2009 at 18:35
6 weeks is good. I think i have strange views on genetic testing so best not to put them here. Though I do think lots of people do things that they know have the chance of killing them- why do people sit on their asses all day eating MacDonalds and not doing any exercise? Why do people not eat any fruit or veg? These things might not kill you themselves, but predispose you to diseases that can kill you.
As humans, we inherently feel invincible, that death is something that happens to someone else, unless we come close to it.
Is lack of nicotine making you worry more than usual?
SSGs last blog post..Walk like you mean it
by yellojkt
06 May 2009 at 21:59
Hang in there. It’s not just your own life, it’s the health you need to enjoy your kids.
yellojkts last blog post..BooksFirst – April 2009
by Jacob
06 May 2009 at 23:32
So that’s what Snus is. There are signs for the stuff in every gas station in town and some mention that it’s refrigerated. Camel apparently recently released their own brand of snus, but I had no idea what in the world it was.
Jacobs last blog post..What Am I Going to Do with My Afternoons?
by Carolyn Online
07 May 2009 at 02:12
Dude you can’t smoke because of your kids. That’s really all it is. You never want your kids to smoke and so you can’t smoke in front of them. Period. Cancer and studies and numbers are just things to read while you wait for the craving to go away.
Carolyn Onlines last blog post..That Wii Fit bitch better just step off.
by NATUI
07 May 2009 at 05:52
I am waiting for the handheld tricorder device that I can point at people to see if they are genetically predisposed to stupidity. Then, I wouldn’t waste my time getting into a conversation with them. What a time saver that would be.
As for the cancer/smoking markers, my MIL has smoked since she was 12. A few years ago her doc did a big x-ray test/screening of her lungs as a smoking deterrent. Turns out her lungs were “amazingly clear”, which to her was the green flag to continue smoking to her heart’s content. My friend’s neighbor just had his leg amputated after six vein replacement surgeries. They told him to quit smoking and he could keep his leg. He didn’t. They cut his leg off below the knee. He got a staff infection and they reamputated at mid-thigh. They said he has quit now, but we shall see. My point: Some people? Just don’t give a damn.
NATUIs last blog post..The HFCS Nazi
by The Right Blue
07 May 2009 at 06:11
Congrats on the six week milestone. Smug is good, esp. in this instance.
Re knowing/not knowing – There probably is more utility in knowing while you are still young. There’s more opportunity to do things (lifestyle, diet, etc.) that might influence the outcome. When you’re already over the hill, so to speak, those kinds of changes may be too little/too late.
In a way, I DO know about my risks, just from observing the patterns of cause of death (and illness) in my relatives. Middle-age onset type II diabetes on my mother’s side; lotsa heart disease on both sides; kidney and lung cancer on my father’s side; thankfully no Alzheimer’s or dementia in anyone.
The ones with cancer — all heavy smokers — died well before their time. The ones with heart disease and related problems all lived into their eighties and nineties, thanks to medical intervention. Perhaps if they followed a better diet, etc. earlier on they would not have needed all those drugs, nor have suffered the heart attacks that didn’t kill them, but certainly were not nice to experience.
Then again, genes aside, any of us could get hit by a truck tomorrow!
The Right Blues last blog post..Stingray City, Grand Cayman Island
by blues
07 May 2009 at 06:25
I am in the same damn boat and I’m waiting for the annoying cravings to leave. It doesn’t help that Luis smokes and so makes me crave regularly.
For me it just got to the point where it was psychologically destroying me to continue smoking, I just felt so defeated by not being in control of myself. Some days I feel that way, other days i think, “I’m in control and If i want a cigarette I’m gonna have one”. It’s all very confusing.
As far as physical health, I know it’s for the best, but then I start getting all hypochondriac for my husband who hasn’t quit yet.
Maybe I need to drink more.
by Joe
07 May 2009 at 09:30
I read an article a couple days ago that says a county in China is FORCING government employees to smoke. Here it is:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5271376/Chinese-ordered-to-smoke-more-to-boost-economy.html
I think if there were something that I could do to help the situation, I would want to know so that I could take the proper steps to change my lifestyle. Actually, I would probably want to know about it even if I couldn’t do anything to help myself so that I could concentrate on making preparations for my family.
Joes last blog post..The Non-Dad Stuff
by Nathan B.
08 May 2009 at 02:45
After Mrs. B was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago, she made the decision to have a battery of genetic tests done. After the tests results ruled out the known genetic markers for her case, she was relieved mostly because she knew a couple of things: 1. Our daughter will need to be checked for breast cancer early but isn’t genetically predisposed (as far as current scientific knowledge goes); and 2. She had a greatly reduced risk of other types of female-related cancers. The frustrating part for her, though, was she couldn’t “blame” anything for having cancer. She had none of the risk factors, outside of being a women, and heredity didn’t appear to play a part either. I think she’s made peace with this situation, but it still sucks balls.
by admin
08 May 2009 at 17:16
OK, I just spent half a lecture on genetic testing and have lots of good reasons now to do genetic testing!
SSG – I’d kind of like to know your strange thoughts. Tell me.
Jacob – Do you remember Skoal Bandits? Snus are the Skoal Bandits of the 21st century.
Carolyn – I know. I know.
NATUI – I don’t know if it’s not giving a damn or if it’s just incredibly difficult to quit. It is. Incredibly difficult.
TRB – Unless you’re adopted or out of touch with your family you know a lot about genetic history anyway. As you say.
Blues – It would be very tough to quit while living with a smoker. Good luck with that.
Nathan – That’s good news – that it’s not a hereditary type of cancer. Good for the wee one, that is.
by alice
09 May 2009 at 12:28
Two things:
1. I’m around 5 years into quitting and I haven’t even had a drag from a smoke since I got the monkey off my back. One of the cool things about being in a successful quit is that I now have something to look forward to if the apocalypse plays out in my lifetime. I only hope I have enough time to make it to the 7/11 for a carton of cigs before the final blow strikes…
2. I used to manage the medical office of a geneticist who specialized in prenatal ultrasound and genetic testing. We dabbled in a bit of predictive testing (checking for breast cancer susceptibility in Ashkenazi Jewish women, for example), but the majority of our business was in high-risk pregnancy — people in an at-risk group, with a prior child born with birth defects, or with previous unsuccessful pregnancies.
It’s nice to be able to test for potential problems. Deciding what to do after receiving the results of such tests is the most anguishing thing I’ve ever been a party to.
That said, the best day I ever had at that job was calling an expectant mother and telling her that her unborn child did not have the same genetic defect that ultimately killed her first two children. We both wept.
alices last blog post..I love it when huge groups of people get together to do really cool things
by I hate cigarettes
24 Jun 2009 at 14:02
I am fuming. People still smoke. When are people going to realize that it is up to us…each and every one of us as mature, intelligent human beings, to stop purchasing cigarettes..because the governments are not going to do anything about it. It will take the collective power of all the people around the world to stop purchasing them immediately, and that will send a mesage to the juggernaut that is the tobacco industry, that they no longer have a market for their poison, because that is precisely what it is. And unintelligent human beings that buy one ounce of that poison, are feeding the whole industry.
So if you or someone else you know buys it, please tell them not to.
Congratulations Free Man, you are doing something good.
I don’t care about all the medical tests and mumbo jumbo…it’s all by the wayside…cigarettes are poison just like the exhaust fumes coming out of your car…if you suck on them long enough, they will kill you. What normal healthy human being wants to poison themselves or the clean air we all breathe?
For God’s Sake people..wake up to your selves.
If everyone would stop buying it, it would send a strong clear message. The governments and the tobacco industry aren’t going to do anything for us, because they are the ones getting your money.
YOU have to do it. Say NO to tobacco..it’s a dirty word.