The best health advice I have ever received is to never start smoking, and after seeing what has happened to my uncle, I never will. Twenty years ago, my uncle was diagnosed with throat cancer. He took radiation, and his doctor told him that he would be dead in five years if he didn't stop smoking. My uncle just couldn't seem to quit, he was too addicted. So he continued to smoke, and after five years, the cancer hadn't returned. He felt he was very lucky and consequently put the cancer out of his mind.
After the surgery, we found out he also needed radiation. So not only was he breathing out of a hole in his throat, but he was nautious, tired, and had no appetite, causing him to become very gaunt. For the first few months after the surgery, he coughed up blood all of the time, and had to clean out the hole in his throat with a Q-tip frequently. One of the worst parts was that for the first few months, no one could understand him when he spoke. He wasn't used to the electrolarynx, and couldn't articulate well enough, so the sounds that came out were a mangled and a garbled mess. He would have to write down everything that he said so that we could understand him, and get him what he needed.
My uncle still coughs up blood frequently, and he still has a hard time dealing with his reality, a year and a half later. This major life change has caused him to become depressed, and as a result, he can't get better. He's convinced that he's dying when even his doctor says he's improving, and some days he doesn't even get out of bed. There have been many times when he's had a cold and had to go to the hospital because he can't breathe. The hole that serves as his airway gets clogged with phlegm and food particles, effectively strangling him. This contributes to the feeling that he's dying, and he only gets more depressed. He's isolated himself from the outside world, cutting off all old friends he once had, and since he's not well, he can't get a job. My 57 year old uncle can't support himself anymore, and is now living back at home with his 87 year old parents. Yet even after all this, he can't stop smoking. He still smokes, even though now he has no voicebox, no friends, no job, no money, and is living back at home. He is the reason why the best health advice by far that I have ever received, is to never start smoking. I've seen it take everything away from someone I love, yet he still can't quit. The rest of us are left powerlessly watching as smoking destroys what little he has left.
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My uncle likes to smoke a cigar from now and then, but the day he got his cancer diagnostic, well, smoking became his worst enemy ever. The psychological process is very important and needs to be explained to teh smoking persons. The illusion goes like this: we don't treasure our body until we get sick and then because we may recieve shocking news, the person suffers a psychological shock that sometimes it can't deal with. We need psychological help and of course a medic.
February 27, 2009 - 1:37amThis Comment
I am so sorry to hear about your uncle and his difficult struggles with his health. He is so young, and really does sound like he is depressed and feeling hopeless; helpless.
I was shocked to read that he is still smoking, even with all he's been through (and is still mentally and physically going through!). It makes sense, in a way, though: the nicotine that he is getting into his system from smoking is providing him with what he needs most right now: some "feel good" chemicals as a type of "self-medication".
I wrote about the effects of nicotine and the brain, as it is often confusing to us non-smokers why smokers don't just quit, especially after all your uncle has been through: https://www.empowher.com/community/blog/alison-b/08/04/29/cigarettes%3A-...
How have you or your uncle's parents (or others?) been helping him with his depression? Have his oncologists or other medical doctors recommended any mental health practitioners or support groups for your uncle?
There is a free book, called "Facing Forward: Life After Cancer", available online by the American Cancer Society:
http://www.acscsn.org/books/
There are other resources for Cancer Survivors (I'm sure you already know about these!). Has he looked into any of these resources?
International Association of Laryngectomees (IAL)
http://www.larynxlink.com
Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC)
http://www.spohnc.org
Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF)
http://www.livestrong.org
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)
http://www.canceradvocacy.org
The caregivers and loved ones of patients also need to take care of themselves, which is often difficult to do. How are his 87 year old parents coping with their adult son's illness (both his cancer and depression)?
Here is an article from the Academy of Family Physicians on the "hidden patients" (the caregivers), called "Caring for the Caregivers"
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/2002/caring-for-caregi...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a listing of support groups and other organizations, as well as literature and websites, for families and loved ones who are caregivers or just concerned and wanting to help. You can search for resources in your area:
May 27, 2008 - 2:06pmhttp://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/support
This Comment
I'm sorry to hear about your uncle's health conditions as a result of smoking but I'm afraid your uncle is not alone. In the U.S. more than 70 million people use tobacco at least once a month.
And the National Institute for Drug Abuse estimates that over the past four decades, cigarette smoking has caused an estimated 12 million deaths, including 4.1 million deaths from cancer, 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases, 2.1 million deaths from respiratory diseases, and 94,000 infant deaths related to mothers smoking during pregnancy. It seems regardless of the complications, smokers find it extremely difficult to kick the habit.
And it sounds like you and I have something in common kwhelan1. After years of watching my father smoke and listening to his smoker's cough, I knew smoking wasn't for me. Despite trying to quit several times, he always needed that cigarette. A few years ago, my father suffered a heart attack, subsequent stroke and a second heart attack -- all in the course of five weeks. While in the hospital, the doctors said he had emphysema and 90 percent of his arteries were clogged. He was also heavily sedated to quell the serious withdrawals from tobacco while he was being treated. Unfortunately, he lost that hard fight.
And while it may not be ideal, at least you and I are able to take away some wisdom from our experiences with others, apply it to our own lives and pass along what we've learned. Thanks for sharing your best health advice.
May 26, 2008 - 7:19amThis Comment