As an oncologist, I deal with more than my share of tobacco-related cancers. Many patients with these malignancies refuse to quit smoking, and the argument goes, "What's the point? Besides, it's one of the few things I have to look forward to anymore."

It's hard to argue with that, and generally tobacco cessation is pretty far down the agenda list for a visit that might include discussions about nutrition, pain control, anemia, control of other respiratory symptoms like cough or shortness of breath, and treatment planning. Many lung cancer patients have enough on their plate to deal with without the added stress of quitting smoking as well.

So a new article in BMJ provides needed ammunition in the argument to convince lung cancer patients to quit smoking: doubled survival over five years.

This makes tobacco cessation far more effective than chemotherapy in the fight against lung cancer. In fact, in all of oncology, the only treatment that produces a 50% improvement in outcomes is hormonal therapy for breast cancer (i.e. tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitors).

So let's get out there and renew the push for tobacco cessation in our lung cancer patients. Push it to the top of the agenda for each visit, and keep discussing it every visit. We oncologists have ample opportunity to intervene, since we tend to see our lung cancer patients frequently.

http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20100121/smokers-with-lung-cancer-...