Smoking and Tamoxifen

Misty, I quit smoking about 30 years ago. Its still one of the smartest things I've ever done. Something you will never hear is a person saying, “I wish I'd never quit smoking."

At the time I quit, I used different tips, like keep fidgity items around to give my hands something to do, keep a jar of sugarless hard candy around and gum to satisfy my mouth. I kept pen and paper round to doodle rather than turn to a cigarette. One tougher thing was to spend less time or no time with other people who smoked. It meant finding new ways to spend my time. I cut back gradually, regressed a few times and then finally gave the cigarettes up for good.

Please use whatever is at your disposal to try to quit. There may be an online support system, an in-person support group, an app, medicine like Chantix mentioned above (my husband used Wellbutrin successfully to quit) or even hypnosis. The internet has to be brimming with tips on how to,quit. Read upon thhem every day,Get some of the fidgit spinners and other items available and keep them in your purse, on your coffee table, wherever you hang out, and use them. Be open minded to trying almost anything, even if it costs you money. It is WORTH IT.

Something I told my husband, who tried quitting numerous times but started back when stressful situations popped up: you will always have stress. Life is not without stress. You need to find other ways of dealing with it before it pops up so the first thing you do isn't turn to cigarettes.

My words made sense to him and he was finally able to quit. We are both so happy we stopped. You will be, too.

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm over menopause so they want me to take the AI, but I have refused because of the osteoporosis risk. So the Oncologist wanted me to take Tamoxifen, but I'm also a smoker so refused. How do we quit smoking when we've just been diagnosed with cancer? I'm done with treatment so maybe next year I will be settled down enough to stop the smoking -- but not this first year. It's embarrassing to be a smoker these days.

KID - good for you on the stop smoking program. One day at a time. Take lots of walks, I ate a ton of sunflower seeds in the shell for the arm motion. Seed to mouth, arm down, crack seed, arm up, remove seed, arm down, do it again. There really are lots of good ideas on the link I posted for Misty and EVERYONE there knows exactly what you're going through.

I smoked about 2 packs a day for close to 50 years. I still smoked when I had my lumpectomy in July 2018, and the re-excision that August. Around the time of my lumpectomy, I was found to have kidney cancer. When I saw the urologist, he insisted I quit smoking before my nephrectomy in September. I procrastinated a bit, but quit eight days before surgery using the patch. I haven't had one since, nor have I wanted one. I haven't even really thought about it. Besides the two cancers, three surgeries, and radiation, I also lost my mother that year and had to get all my top teeth pulled and adjust to dentures. Tell me about stress. Unfortunately, I have gained back the weight I lost (kidney cancer sucked off about 40 pounds), plus a little more, but I'm seeing a nutritionist Friday to navigate healthy weight-loss eating while taking care of my remaining kidney.

Oh, and once I finally finished radiation in December 2018, my MO put me on Tamoxifen.

This sounds weird but I remember I started going to a new church and asked to be prayed for to stop smoking. Two church members sat in the car and prayed over me. I didn't immediately quit but the seed was sown. These days I'm not even a big believer in prayer. But I was looking for help back then and it was something I turned to. So just as an addict may ask a higher power to help, I think it could apply to someone wanting to quit smoking. Ask your higher power to help. Maybe it is something you can't do on your own and could use divine intervention. Everyone thinks of turning to a higher power for drugs or alcohol but smoking is considered an addiction too.

Devine - exactly. "don't get down on yourself"

Gradually worked for me. I was still smoking in my house & car. Stopped smoking in the house first. Then several weeks later stopped smoking in the car. Once I was self restricted to the front porch I started stretching out the intervals between smokes. By the time I started Chantix I was already down from a pack a day to one every couple of hours.

I did have to stop some 'triggers'. For example, I had to give my morning cup of coffee for awhile. Every time I wanted to smoke, I banged out of the house and walked around the block (and yes there was some swearing going on with the walking). I washed everything in my closet or took it to the cleaners. I treated myself by having the carpets & drapes cleaned. Boy, after that expense i for sure wasn't going to smoke in the house again. Or in my clean clothes. My son still jokes about my 'smoking jacket'. The last smelly thing I put on when I was giving up those last few smokes.

ctm - never, never be embarrassed. No one should point fingers, and if they do... break it off. I can't even remember how many times I quit before the last time. When the time is right for you, it will work. Maybe February.

Actually I quit smoking when I was first diagnosed with osteoporosis - 4 years before cancer. I was petrified that I'd fall, break a major bone & be warehoused in a nursing home. I quit drinking cokes at the same time since sodas are bad for bones too. It was almost as hard to quit the cokes as the smokes.

Sorry to hear about your DH. If he's in treatment, I hope the SEs aren't too bad. My neighbor has lung cancer and still smokes - but he changed to "swisher sweets". He lights, has a few puffs and then puts out for later - so one lasts most of the day. Of course his wife is furious that he's smoking. But of course she never smoked so has NO CLUE how hard it is.