heavy smoking mean's kidney cancer but more aggressive.

Researchers have found that kidney cancer is not only more
common among heavy smokers, it also appears to be more
aggressive.
According to a study out Monday, more than one in four smokers undergoing kidney cancer surgery had advanced stages of the disease, compared to only one in five patients who didn't light up.
Researchers say about 70 percent of people with early-stage tumors survive at least five years, whereas that number plummets to just eight percent after the cancer has begun spreading.

About one in 70 Americans, most of them elderly, develop kidney cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
But the findings aren't all bad news. Indeed, former smokers who'd kicked the habit had a smaller chance of turning up with advanced cancer.
While the study wasn't designed to prove that quitting can slow tumor growth, Dr. Thomas J. Polascik, who led the work, said he believes that to be the case.
"It can't bring you down to the risk of a nonsmoker, but it can get you almost there," Polascik, a surgeon at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health. His findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Polascik and his colleagues looked at data for 845 people who'd had surgery for kidney cancer at their hospital. A quarter of the patients had advanced disease, defined as cancer spreading beyond the kidney.
The odds of finding late-stage cancer were 60 percent higher in smokers -- about a fifth of the patients -- than non-smokers, even after taking age and other factors into account. And the more cigarettes they had smoked, the higher the odds.
Former smokers also had higher odds of advanced disease. But the odds fell by nine percent for every decade they had been smoke-free.
The researchers say that means smoking might not only up the chances the a tumor will form in the first place, but might also fuel cancer growth, perhaps by suppressing the immune system.
However, Alexander S. Parker, a kidney cancer expert at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, said it's also possible that smokers are less likely to seek medical care than non-smokers.
"If this is true, then it would not be the case that the biology of these tumors is different," he told Reuters Health in an email. "Rather, just that the individuals themselves have less contact with the health care system and are less likely to be diagnosed when their cancers are at an early, treatable stage."
Still, Parker, who was not involved in the new work, said the findings lined up with earlier data showing that smokers have twice the risk of developing kidney cancer, in addition to other health problems.
"In the end," he said, "we need to be clear that smoking accounts for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year in the U.S. and therefore, the overall effort should still be focused on getting people to quit smoking and to keep young people from starting in the first place."

The Effects of Smoking on Beauty

Did you know? In 1985, the term “smoker's face” was added to the medical dictionary, meaning that there is a definite difference visually in a smokers face compared to a non-smoker.

Looking old – everyone's worse fear. (Or is it just me?) Unfortunately, a smoker has way more things than a few wrinkles or lines to worry about. Here's some of them, (brace yourself).

Your Skin Texture. Smoking reduces the production of collagen and elastic up to 40%, some reports state. This means skin starts to thin out, which leads to premature sagging, wrinkles, and fine lines. Deep lines and wrinkles usually form around the eyes and the mouth area, thanks to the constant squinting from smoke irritation, and puckering of the lips when inhaling a cigarette. According to some studies by Skincare Physicians.com, smokers develop premature signs of aging much sooner than a non-smoker, even as young as 20 years old. “Facial wrinkling, while not yet visible, can be seen under a microscope.” Overall, because of its thousands of toxins going directly into your body from a single cigarette, your overall complexion can have a yellow, sullen, leathery texture – so attractive!

Aged Eye Area. Because smoking damages the cells around the eyes, you can not only expect wrinkles and lines, but also sucken eyes with dark eye circles. This is especially common with chain smokers.

Wrinkled, Shriveled Lips. Again, because smoking zaps all the collagen and elastic from your skin, your lips suffer too. Lips can become wrinkled and look shriveled. The skin around the mouth, again, will eventually lead to deep, dark lines and wrinkles because of the constant puckering of your lips.

Stained Teeth. Smoking stains the teeth. Smokers are also more likely to loose teeth, have plaque buildup, and lose part of the jawbone that helps keep their teeth in place – scary!

Lifeless Hair. Smokers are up to four times more likely to have these problems with their hair, thanks to the chemicals in cigarettes. They starve your hair of oxygen and make it dull, lifeless and brittle, and in the long run contributes to hair loss, premature graying, and balding.

Appearance of an Aged Body. Your fingers will eventually get stained by a beautiful yellow tinge, and recent studies from the Research in Archives of Dermatology stated that smoking ages skin all across the body, especially sagging in the upper inner arms.

aroma. No one can deny the smell smoking causes. I don't know how I did it, but I had a boyfriend who smoked and everything – everything! – smelt awful. His hair, clothes, apartment. Not very appealing. He would wear cologne, but what was the point? One cigarette later and his precious cologne was long gone.

… And as if that's not bad enough, you may be a little more dumb than the rest of us. Not exactly something you'd like advertised about yourself, huh?

In conclusion, smoking blesses you with some very attractive physical traits! But seriously – if that doesn't make you want to quit ASAP, Amanda Sanford of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) sums it perfectly: “No amount of anti-aging cream will remove the wrinkles caused by cigarettes, so the best way for smokers to avoid the wrinkled prune look is to stop.”

FAQ's

Smoking Cessation helps smokers kick their nicotine addiction by providing tools and support for people who want to quit smoking.

Are “light” cigarettes better than regular ones?
Cigarettes are cigarettes. There is no difference. Light cigarettes have tiny holes just where your fingers hold them. So, when you inhale, you get full-strength smoke. When just the end of the filter is inserted into a “smoking machine” to determine the tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide content, the smoke is diluted by air entering through those holes. What's more, people inhale more deeply and more frequently after switching from "regular" to "light" cigarettes, in order to keep the same average level of nicotine in their bloodstream.


If I quit smoking, I’ll gain weight. What can I do to stay slim?
You harm your body far more by smoking than by carrying excess weight. You can control your weight by eating less, exercising more, reducing sweets, and by altering your lifestyle. Become more active. Not only will this keep you occupied, you will also lose weight.

Will my body ever get back to normal after I quit?
Yes, it will. In fact, your body starts repairing the damage almost immediately. For example, within 30 minutes of quitting smoking, your pulse rate slows down and your blood pressure drops toward normal. Within hours of stopping, the level of carbon monoxide in your blood drops, enabling the blood to carry more oxygen. Two days after quitting, nerve endings begin to recover and your sense of smell and taste begin to return. Within 72 hours of quitting, the bronchial tubes of your lungs expand and lung volume increases.

What’s the best way to quit?
There isn’t a single method that can be applied to all people. Everyone is different, so you must find the method for quitting smoking that works for you. If every method or product worked for everybody, you probably would have quit by now. Some people quit through sheer determination and can quit cold-turkey. Other people need classes, drugs, therapy, various products, etc. Whatever works for you and is safe, you should consider and utilize. Let your doctor know you want to quit and ask for his or her assistance. This step alone can help improve your chances for quitting considerably. And don’t worry about failing. Relapse is part of the quitting process. Many people try three or four times before they finally quit for good.

Does nicotine cause cancer?
As a matter of fact, nicotine does not cause cancer – it is the addictive chemical in tobacco that keeps you puffing away, year after year. However, tobacco smoke has a grand total of 4,000 chemicals – out of which 43 are extremely cancer causing. Therefore, it is safe to chew nicotine gum or use a nicotine patch.

I know smoking causes cancer. Does it cause anything else?
Smoking is responsible for a whole host of illnesses. For example, it contributes to back pain, osteoporosis (thinning of the bones), and male impotence. It affects the circulation and hardens the arteries, while creating low-level carbon monoxide poisoning. Together, these effects decrease the delivery of oxygen to every part of the body including discs in the spine. Smokers have more back pain than non-smokers, and their injuries heal less quickly.

How dangerous is second-hand smoke?
It is very dangerous. For example, recent studies show that second-hand smoke causes a variety of illnesses in children, such as ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Smoke in an infant's household quadruples the chances of a SIDS death. Each year in the United States, second-hand smoke causes an estimated 284 to 364 deaths in children from house fires and lung infections. Also, it causes between 354,000 and 2.2 million ear infections in children, as well as 260,000 to 436,000 episodes of bronchitis and 115,000 to 190,000 episodes of pneumonia. A non-smoking spouse of a regular smoker has a 20% increase in his chances of contracting lung cancer, and 30% of developing heart disease.

What can I do get my teen kids to quit?
Most young people just cannot understand the health risks involved with smoking. Remember, they are young, and most young people feel immortal. However, you can discourage them from smoking by making smoking seem less hip and cool. For example, stress tobacco's effect on personal attractiveness. Surveys show that teens, whether they smoke or not, are turned off by the bad breath, smelly clothes and hair, and yellow teeth of smokers. Also, you can steer teens toward peer groups that don't smoke. Teens need the approval of their friends. If their best friends aren’t smoking, they are unlikely to take up the habit. Find extracurricular activities, such as sports, theatre groups, scouting and so forth, and offer to support your teen's participation with transportation and attendance at functions. You can also support education programs that feature older teens who have quit smoking because of the health hazards and other undesirable effects. Start early; the average teen smoker begins at age 14.

Is smokeless tobacco harmful?
Yes, and just as much as cigarettes. There's a widely held myth that smokeless tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco) is a safe alternative to cigarettes, when actually it's just as dangerous as smoking. Since nicotine is a habit-forming drug, snuff and chewing tobacco users become just as chemically dependent as cigarette smokers. Smokeless products induce a higher blood-nicotine level, which is sustained for longer periods, since users tend to chew over a period of hours. As with cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco may cause heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. These products also have dangers of their own, including gum diseases, erosion of teeth and mouth lesions that can develop into cancer.

How many people actually die from smoking?
In America, an average of 400,000 people die from smoking related diseases every year.

Karen's Quit Story

I am proud to say that I have enough experience with life to have learned how to cherish life's little miracles with the same enthusiasm as I do the large.

A miracle, defined in the dictionary as something that defies scientific laws, an event or act that challenges logic, is exactly what I am living.

Today I celebrate the miracle of being a healthy non-smoker. I have accomplished no other deed that compares to this. No other achievement in my life touches the hem of gaining and retaining my life back from the world of the "Smoking section".

There are many many roads to becoming an ex-smoker. Mine was not the straight and narrow nor was my trip the "shortest distance between two points". I took the long way around. Why?, blurred vision, inability to make a commitment?, or plain laziness?. All of the above, plus 3 or 4 less logical excuses assisted my reasoning, which allowed me to continue smoking when I knew that there was no good thing about it.

I won't dwell on my past smoking experiences. I've given enough of my life to a cause whose only return has robbed me of the quality and quantity of time that I may have to spend with my loved ones.

I will clarify, subjectively, the advantages of becoming and remaining a non-smoker.

Children
Anyone that has, loves or wants a child would do himself or herself a huge favor of not smoking. The impression that you make on children by what you do or, more important, don't do is more than you know.

Health
Your health will make or break you, literally. No matter how many old people you see smoking, you will never live to your expectant age if you continue to tell yourself that not every smoker dies early from cancer. The age that you do live to see will not be comfortable or enjoyable.

Time
I once read that smokers are better managers of time than non-smokers. So, I prided myself on being able to plan my next cigarette break before I even finished my current cigarette break, being able to remember to stop between destinations to restock. Progressive? Psychic? Neither, and anyone who still believes that they need a cigarette(a depressant), to figure out life's problems are not using the full capacity of their brain to start with.

Cost
A two-edged sword. I had convinced myself that $3.25 was not a lot to pay for my habit. I never asked anyone to purchase my cigarettes, and it was a small amount when you consider that other ILLEGAL drugs were much more. I work every day, and I am worth a mere $3.25, right? Right, but my life is worth more than that. Plus, I really do notice those extra bills in my pocket.

Smell
I can only laugh at my attempt to conceal the smell of smoke in my hair, clothes, skin, car, house, and mouth. I can now smell smoke from a block away. About the same distance that non-smokers smelt me from, no matter how sweet the perfume, gum or air freshener I used to carry with me at all times.

Making the decision to stop smoking has nothing to do with remaining a non-smoker. Ask any smoker about quitting. It's not the hard part. Remaining a quitter is more than a notion.

A small miracle or a large miracle? I cannot say. I do know that after exhausting all my natural powers, I kept praying for assistance to conquer a habit that half the world considers to be normal and the other half knows by it's true name: an addiction that causes cancer, emphysema, pain, and early death.