Smoking still prevails among cancer survivors in the United States. A new research shows nearly one in 10 survivors smokes nine years after diagnosis.
Researchers at the American Cancer Society found that 9.3 percent of cancer survivors are current smokers and 83 percent of them were daily smoking at least 14.7 cigarettes on average per day. Survivors of bladder cancer had the highest rate of smoking.
"We need to follow up with cancer survivors long after their diagnoses to see whether they are still smoking and offer appropriate counseling, interventions, and possible medications to help them quit," Lee Westmaas, PhD, director of tobacco research at the American Cancer Society (ACS) and lead author of the study, said in a press release.
The ACS examined data of 2,938 patients nine years after their diagnoses. They found that survivors of bladder cancer had the highest smoking rates with 17.2 percent, followed by 14.9 percent of those who had lung cancer. Around 11.6 percent of people cured of ovarian cancer smoked and 7.6 percent of melanoma survivors also had the habit. Kidney cancer survivors (7.3 percent) and colorectal cancer (6.8 percent) smoked the least.
Researchers also found that survivors were more likely to smoke if they were younger, had less education and income, or abused liquor. Moreover, around 40 percent of smokers said they decided to quit within the next month. However, those married or older had no such plans.
"Smoking is addictive and having cancer does not guarantee that you will stop, even if that cancer was directly tied to your smoking," said Westmaas. "We need to do more to intervene with these patients."
According to Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, chief of medical oncology at Yale said that the study results demonstrate the scope of the problem. "Smoking can cause new mutations among cancer survivors that can lead to secondary and additional primary cancers. It can also affect physical function and interfere with the efficacy of therapies," Herbst said. "We need to take note of this and target this population for intervention."
