How To Quit Smoking Natrually (DETAILED)

 Quit Smoking Naturally By Experts

Welcome to my Blog. I'm Xaam with SarahCannon Cancer Institute and I am joined today by Dr. Joseph Stilwill, also with Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at Menorah Medical Center. Today we're going to talk about a topic that's very dear to our hearts, smoking cessation. Dr. Stilwill. - I think smoking cessation is something that can't get enough attention. It can have huge implications for the health of all of us that are exposed to smoke. And so, I think it's something that we should continue to discuss and bring up. - Right, and just recently, we've always talked about smoking cessation a lot being in oncology, but just recently smoking cessation has gotten a lot more attention with the COVID epidemic, and so we wanted to talk a little bit about that as well today. - Definitely. There's evidence that smoking does likely increase the risk of complications from COVID infection. There's even some evidence to support the fact that it might increase your likelihood of developing COVID. If we think about smoke when you smoke you can't have a mask on. You're also bringing your hand close to your mouth on numerous occasions which could significantly impact your likelihood of contracting the disease. - Right. 

 

This is something that we have talked about a lot, and so we wanted to touch on ways that you could quit smoking as well. And there's been a lot of research about quitting smoking in the years past and that research has continued, and then also been ramped up during COVID as well because as they've been researching COVID they're saying, oh yes, look, this is probably increasing the COVID infections. And so, we found that throughout all the time that they've done all this research that there is a correlation with both doing counseling approach along with medication and that that has had the highest rate of success for people who want to quit smoking. And so, just go talk to your doctors. They're always going to be willing to help you try to find a way to quit. And it doesn't have to be Chantix. I know a lot of people are scared of Chantix, although Chantix does have a high success rate for people who can tolerate it. There are other treatment options as well. You can try patches. You can try other medications. There's Wellbutrin, but there is always an option. And so, talk to someone. Talk to your doctor. They'll be willing to help you try to find ways to quit. You can always send a message to me as well. I'm a certified counselor for smoking cessation as well. But there are options and it's worth looking into. I think that it's something that we are very passionate about and we've always talked about it a lot because obviously with oncology this is something that we are very passionate about. - Sure. Tobacco use, we always think about increases the risk of lung cancer and it obviously does that but also has an impact on bladder cancer and other cancers as well. Certainly, cardiovascular disease is potentially attributable to tobacco exposure as well. Lots of reasons to consider smoking cessation. I think with the COVID pandemic I think this is another reason to have it in the back of our mind that now might be a great time to think about quitting. - Absolutely. And when we talk about lung cancer, that also brings us back to the fact that we have the availability to do CT lung screenings. And so Dr. Stilwill, would you like to talk a little bit about that and why that's important? - Sure. Amy and I both see a lot of patients with lung cancer and unfortunately, the majority of patients that are diagnosed with lung cancer are diagnosed at a late stage. And so, cancer has spread to other places. And that's because at an early stage we often don't have any symptoms of lung cancer.

 

 And so, we know that low dose CTs can help us to identify lung cancer at an earlier stage where it's more curable and more treatable. And so, for patients that are at high risk for lung cancer, it's approved by both Medicare and private insurance. It's a low-dose CT done once a year for patients who have smoked the equivalent of one pack a day for 30 years and have quit within the last 15 years or continue to quit. It's also for patients who are age 55 to 77. - Right, so that's another conversation that you can have with your doctor. They can help you figure out very quickly whether or not that's something that you are eligible for and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to get you signed up for one of those. Dr. Silwill, something else that we do. These are all conversations that we have is a multidisciplinary case conference. Do you wanna talk a little bit about that? - Yeah, I think that's important in the treatment of lung cancer. In lung cancer, there are medical oncologists like myself. There are a variety of doctors who help to treat and manage lung cancer, from pulmonologists to radiation oncologists to thoracic surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists. And having everybody in one room to talk about how to treat a patient is beneficial to have everybody on the same page and moving in the same direction. And so, it's one of the things that we're fortunate to have here and it's beneficial for us and our patients. It helps us to expedite the care of patients. - Absolutely. And so some people get a little bit intimidated by that but if you go back to what was just talking about of that process of replacing those habits, you actually have to map the habits first and then we have to figure out how to replace them and what's gonna work and what's not because sometimes the first thing that you try doesn't work. It takes a little bit of time sometimes to figure out what's gonna work, and of course, our goal is a success. 

 

We don't wanna just say, hey, do this, and then send them off into the world and be like, here you go, because that's not necessarily going to be successful. And so, it's a process to figure out what's going to work and then actually have someone be successful because obviously, that's our goal. And then our next question was are the patches for nicotine suppression worth trying? And I think yes they are. You have to use them as they are prescribed. And so sometimes people get a little bit intimidated by that because they go into the store and there's like multiple different kinds and multiple different steps and how does this actually work, and so you have to understand that you have to look and see. They go by how many cigarettes do you smoke, etc., etc. And so you have to figure out which ones you're supposedto use and how to use them. And then people are like, well if I do this then can I still smoke? And so, that's a whole conversation to go through but they do work for a lot of people. And so, I do think that they are very worthwhile. This one is, I'm in my 50s and have what people call a smoker's cough. Where can I go to get a screening done and how long does the screening take? You wanna take that one? - And with the COVID epidemic that's been going on, we've also done some of those things virtually to kind of have everyone together but not necessarily breathing the same air. And we've done a lot of things virtually including navigation. Some of the navigation aspects have been virtual, and then we've come back live again. And that has been very interesting for us, but it's been one of those things that you kind of figure out as you go along and it's been a challenge for all of us but I think it's also in a way kind of made the team stronger because we figured out what strengths everyone has and how to capitalize on them. And I think that it's brought us all closer in a lot of ways. - I agree with that. I don't mean to leave navigators out of the multi-disciplinary approach. I think navigators are essential and kind of the epitome of the multi-disciplinary approach. What Amy does is help to bring everybody together and have that point of contact for patients. Patients, if they have four different doctors' appointments and they don't know who to ask what question or when all their appointments are, I think it's really helpful to have someone that they can call and ask and can help guide them through the process. 

 

That's a really big deal. - We have a question. What do you recommend for a young person in their 20s who has been smoking since their early teens? I've come across this in some of my classes and this is something where, again, it's gonna be a situation where it's gonna be a combination thing. Not only is it something that's gonna be a chemical thing and a systemic thing, that they're gonna have to break that. It's also gonna be a habit because it's something that they started learning while they were in their brain, while their brain was still changing and they were in their teens. Their brain was forming, and so that is a hard habit to break. And so, it requires changing their habits. And so, what I teach especially the younger ones is you have to replace that habit, you have to map it, and so I give them like a chart to figure out when they smoke their cigarettes and with each one of those actual times, 'cause usually they have their habits. Like it's when they're driving or when they're having their coffee. Each time that they have those times when they smoke their cigarettes they have to replace that with something else. And so, it's figuring it out. Sometimes it's even if they are always driving down the road and they're driving with their right hand and they have a cigarette in their left hand, switch hands while you're driving. It doesn't necessarily have to be a super complicated thing but it's just actually walking them through the process of replacing those habits, along with actually fixing the chemical addiction process. It's a multi-step process but it can be done. Classes and support groups. Do we offer them? Yes, we do. And multiple places in the city do. The American Lung Association actually on its website will have all of the classes that are available in the area. You can search by zipping code and look for the classes and that's who I'm certified through. We do them here at Menorah usually twice a year basis, and so that's available as well. And then there are also multiple support groups online and places that you can search for. And there are also quite lines online and there are 24-hour support groups as well. - The classes are great, right? They're a whole program. It's not just come to one class. It's a weekly class.- Eight weeks. Yes, eight weeks.