RELATION BETWEEN TOBACCO & CANCER
Tobacco causes blood clots
Smokers are more susceptible to blood clots (thrombosis) than non-smokers. Smoking can lead to the likelihood of contracting thrombosis 10 years earlier than in non-smokers.
Everyone will develop arteriosclerosis during their life; it has already begun by the age of 18-20. However, smokers will start to develop arteriosclerosis earlier than non-smokers.
Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Coronary and cerebral thromboses are the most common causes of sudden death. Smoking increases the body's vulnerability to clotting, and the susceptibility of the blood platelets to clotting also increases; at the same time, the body's ability to dissolve clots deteriorates. This is why smokers are highly vulnerable to thrombosis.
Quitting helps
Generally blood clots are two to four times more common in smokers than in non-smokers. About one third of all coronary thromboses are due to smoking. Sudden blocking of a blood vessel in the heart gives rise to agonising chest pains, breathing difficulties and a feeling of choking. Around 25 per cent of heart attack patients die immediately, with a further 25 per cent dying within two hours. Three quarters of those who die will do so within 24 hours.
Stopping smoking is the best preventive measure a person with heart disease can take. If a smoker survives a thrombosis and stops smoking, they will, over the next two year period, halve the risk of suffering a fatal thrombosis. Stopping smoking after a stroke may also be beneficial.
Gangrene of the leg
Gangrene of the leg is caused by gradual closure of the large blood vessels carrying blood to the legs. Initially, the leg will be painful when walking, will be relieved on stopping, and start again when walking is resumed. The pain will increase and finally the leg will be painful even at rest. A blood clot combined with arteriosclerosis can suddenly worsen the condition. At this stage, gangrene can occur and amputation can be the end result.
Chest pains and smoking
Smokers with a heart condition who suffer from chest pains when running or exercising have a lot to gain from giving up cigarettes. The chest pains are caused by the heart muscle receiving too little blood when under strain, and so there is not enough oxygen to carry out its work of pumping blood around the body, enabling the muscles and organs to function.
In heavy smokers, around 8 per cent of the blood's oxygen carrying capacity is removed by the poisonous gas carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide binds to red blood corpuscles several hundred times more easily than oxygen does. In addition, the carbon monoxide will make the red blood corpuscles bind oxygen more strongly than usual. This makes it more difficult for the blood corpuscles to release the oxygen to the tissues that need it within the body. Finally, carbon monoxide also has an inhibiting effect on the pumping function of the heart.
So a heart patient who smokes will have a particularly poor supply of oxygen to the heart, which will also pump less well.
The benefits of quitting
Many heart patients notice an almost immediate improvement when they stop smoking - they no longer need to take so much medication for their heart, and can cope better with physical exertion.
Most people with heart conditions who stop smoking experience a better quality of life.
A welcome bonus for heart patients is that they should now be able to have sex without being disturbed by chest pains. This is because the heart's supply of oxygen increases substantially just 24 hours after a person stops smoking. Better sex can help heart patients get over the gap left in their lives by cigarettes.
Lung cancer is by far the most important of the tobacco-related cancers, but there are a series of other cancers that occur more frequently in smokers than in non-smokers. These are:
cancer of the larynx
cancer of the oral cavity and the pharynx
cancer of the oesophagus, pancreas, bladder and cervix.
It has been calculated that some 40 per cent of all cases of bladder cancer and some 15 per cent of cancer of the pancreas are due to smoking. In some cases, however, smoking is not blamed for causing cancer.
No effective screening yet
It would be best to avoid lung cancer all together, but nevertheless it is possible to save lives if the disease is detected early. Unfortunately, so-called chemoprophylaxis, whereby heavy smokers ingest a chemical substance to prevent lung cancer, has not produced any promising results. Nor has regular monitoring with chest X-rays or the examination of saliva samples for cancerous cells. It is not as yet known whether CT-scanning can be used to screen for lung cancer. If CT-scanning proves capable of saving some smokers, the next question would be whether the human cost of screening would be too great, for up to 40 per cent will be 'false positive'. This means that the CT-scan reveals a spot on the lung that doesn't turn out to be cancerous.
The best form of prevention is to stop smoking
For the time being, not smoking is the most effective way of preventing lung cancer. The risk of developing lung cancer falls steadily when you stop smoking.
After 5-10 years it is halved.
After 15 years the risk is reduced about 10-fold.
Until there is an effective screening method for lung cancer, an effective course of preventive therapy, or some quite different form of prophylaxis, the smoker will unfortunately have to live with some degree of increased risk for the rest of their life. But the risk becomes less with every year that passes after he stops smoking. The earlier in life a smoker stops smoking, the lower the risk of developing lung cancer later in life.
As regards the other cancers, there has been no thorough investigation of risk evolution after stopping smoking. But the most investigation has been into:
bladder cancer
cancer of the larynx
oesophageal cancer.
Here it seems that the risk of cancer falls in much the same way as for lung cancer.
Kick the habit
There is plenty of evidence to show that if you have developed cancer in the head or neck, your chances of getting better are greater if you stop smoking. The most positive results show that the likelihood of recovery is doubled if radiation therapy is combined with giving up smoking.
If you have developed lung cancer, it is less certain that stopping smoking will increase your chances of recovery. However, it is beyond question that stopping smoking reduces the risk of developing pneumonia or other infections. In addition, stopping smoking will also improve cardiovascular function.
Reduce the risk
If a doctor feels that a lung cancer patient may be cured by surgery, it is important to stop smoking beforehand. This is because stopping smoking will reduce the risk of complications like pneumonia and collapsed lungs. The chances of survival after combined radiation and chemotherapy may also increase if you stop smoking. It is less certain that stopping smoking affects the chances of survival if you have so-called small cell lung cancer requiring chemotherapy.
Quitting can be hard if you are ill
Some cancer patients interpret the suggestion that they stop smoking as a sign of hope, that it is worth fighting on. On the other hand, it takes a lot to stop smoking when you have just been diagnosed with cancer. The smoker may need the calming effect of a cigarette more than ever. In this situation a failed attempt to stop smoking feels particularly painful and in the worst scenario may contribute to the cancer patient falling into a depression.
I'm only a survivor, the above information is gathered from various survivors & from Drs. These are given so one will take cautions, not to alarm anyone. So kindly ask your Dr.
Smokers are more susceptible to blood clots (thrombosis) than non-smokers. Smoking can lead to the likelihood of contracting thrombosis 10 years earlier than in non-smokers.
Everyone will develop arteriosclerosis during their life; it has already begun by the age of 18-20. However, smokers will start to develop arteriosclerosis earlier than non-smokers.
Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Coronary and cerebral thromboses are the most common causes of sudden death. Smoking increases the body's vulnerability to clotting, and the susceptibility of the blood platelets to clotting also increases; at the same time, the body's ability to dissolve clots deteriorates. This is why smokers are highly vulnerable to thrombosis.
Quitting helps
Generally blood clots are two to four times more common in smokers than in non-smokers. About one third of all coronary thromboses are due to smoking. Sudden blocking of a blood vessel in the heart gives rise to agonising chest pains, breathing difficulties and a feeling of choking. Around 25 per cent of heart attack patients die immediately, with a further 25 per cent dying within two hours. Three quarters of those who die will do so within 24 hours.
Stopping smoking is the best preventive measure a person with heart disease can take. If a smoker survives a thrombosis and stops smoking, they will, over the next two year period, halve the risk of suffering a fatal thrombosis. Stopping smoking after a stroke may also be beneficial.
Gangrene of the leg
Gangrene of the leg is caused by gradual closure of the large blood vessels carrying blood to the legs. Initially, the leg will be painful when walking, will be relieved on stopping, and start again when walking is resumed. The pain will increase and finally the leg will be painful even at rest. A blood clot combined with arteriosclerosis can suddenly worsen the condition. At this stage, gangrene can occur and amputation can be the end result.
Chest pains and smoking
Smokers with a heart condition who suffer from chest pains when running or exercising have a lot to gain from giving up cigarettes. The chest pains are caused by the heart muscle receiving too little blood when under strain, and so there is not enough oxygen to carry out its work of pumping blood around the body, enabling the muscles and organs to function.
In heavy smokers, around 8 per cent of the blood's oxygen carrying capacity is removed by the poisonous gas carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide binds to red blood corpuscles several hundred times more easily than oxygen does. In addition, the carbon monoxide will make the red blood corpuscles bind oxygen more strongly than usual. This makes it more difficult for the blood corpuscles to release the oxygen to the tissues that need it within the body. Finally, carbon monoxide also has an inhibiting effect on the pumping function of the heart.
So a heart patient who smokes will have a particularly poor supply of oxygen to the heart, which will also pump less well.
The benefits of quitting
Many heart patients notice an almost immediate improvement when they stop smoking - they no longer need to take so much medication for their heart, and can cope better with physical exertion.
Most people with heart conditions who stop smoking experience a better quality of life.
A welcome bonus for heart patients is that they should now be able to have sex without being disturbed by chest pains. This is because the heart's supply of oxygen increases substantially just 24 hours after a person stops smoking. Better sex can help heart patients get over the gap left in their lives by cigarettes.
Lung cancer is by far the most important of the tobacco-related cancers, but there are a series of other cancers that occur more frequently in smokers than in non-smokers. These are:
cancer of the larynx
cancer of the oral cavity and the pharynx
cancer of the oesophagus, pancreas, bladder and cervix.
It has been calculated that some 40 per cent of all cases of bladder cancer and some 15 per cent of cancer of the pancreas are due to smoking. In some cases, however, smoking is not blamed for causing cancer.
No effective screening yet
It would be best to avoid lung cancer all together, but nevertheless it is possible to save lives if the disease is detected early. Unfortunately, so-called chemoprophylaxis, whereby heavy smokers ingest a chemical substance to prevent lung cancer, has not produced any promising results. Nor has regular monitoring with chest X-rays or the examination of saliva samples for cancerous cells. It is not as yet known whether CT-scanning can be used to screen for lung cancer. If CT-scanning proves capable of saving some smokers, the next question would be whether the human cost of screening would be too great, for up to 40 per cent will be 'false positive'. This means that the CT-scan reveals a spot on the lung that doesn't turn out to be cancerous.
The best form of prevention is to stop smoking
For the time being, not smoking is the most effective way of preventing lung cancer. The risk of developing lung cancer falls steadily when you stop smoking.
After 5-10 years it is halved.
After 15 years the risk is reduced about 10-fold.
Until there is an effective screening method for lung cancer, an effective course of preventive therapy, or some quite different form of prophylaxis, the smoker will unfortunately have to live with some degree of increased risk for the rest of their life. But the risk becomes less with every year that passes after he stops smoking. The earlier in life a smoker stops smoking, the lower the risk of developing lung cancer later in life.
As regards the other cancers, there has been no thorough investigation of risk evolution after stopping smoking. But the most investigation has been into:
bladder cancer
cancer of the larynx
oesophageal cancer.
Here it seems that the risk of cancer falls in much the same way as for lung cancer.
Kick the habit
There is plenty of evidence to show that if you have developed cancer in the head or neck, your chances of getting better are greater if you stop smoking. The most positive results show that the likelihood of recovery is doubled if radiation therapy is combined with giving up smoking.
If you have developed lung cancer, it is less certain that stopping smoking will increase your chances of recovery. However, it is beyond question that stopping smoking reduces the risk of developing pneumonia or other infections. In addition, stopping smoking will also improve cardiovascular function.
Reduce the risk
If a doctor feels that a lung cancer patient may be cured by surgery, it is important to stop smoking beforehand. This is because stopping smoking will reduce the risk of complications like pneumonia and collapsed lungs. The chances of survival after combined radiation and chemotherapy may also increase if you stop smoking. It is less certain that stopping smoking affects the chances of survival if you have so-called small cell lung cancer requiring chemotherapy.
Quitting can be hard if you are ill
Some cancer patients interpret the suggestion that they stop smoking as a sign of hope, that it is worth fighting on. On the other hand, it takes a lot to stop smoking when you have just been diagnosed with cancer. The smoker may need the calming effect of a cigarette more than ever. In this situation a failed attempt to stop smoking feels particularly painful and in the worst scenario may contribute to the cancer patient falling into a depression.
I'm only a survivor, the above information is gathered from various survivors & from Drs. These are given so one will take cautions, not to alarm anyone. So kindly ask your Dr.
posted by G S Iyer at 1:24 AM
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