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Quitting smoking
Quitting smoking is hard. If it were easy, almost everyone would already have quit, because of the abundance of well-publicized information about the dangers of smoking. The presence or absence of willpower, intellectual gifts, or emotional strength doesn't seem to make that much difference when trying to quit: nicotine is a stalwart enemy
But if you still smoke, you should consider quitting.

If your lung cancer was diagnosed at an early stage and your treatment is considered successful, you can improve your chances of remaining free of lung cancer (and many other cancers) significantly by stopping smoking.
If you were diagnosed at a later stage and your doctor says the success of your treatment remains to be seen, quitting smoking will improve your quality of life by improving heart function and that of remaining healthy lung tissue.
Quitting smoking will make treatment easier and more effective by hastening healing after surgery; by improving liver, kidney, heart, and lung function; and by making more oxygen available to metabolize certain drugs or interact with radiotherapy, which requires oxygen in irradiated tissue to be effective.
Lung cancer and lung capacity are not the only good reasons to quit smoking. The following information is distilled from the publications of the NC!.

Cigarettes contain over 3,000 chemicals, of which 60 are known to be cancer-causing (carcinogenic). The toxins in tobacco products are known to contribute to the development of cancer in at least eight other organs besides the lung:
• Pancreas
• Bladder
• Kidney
• Esophagus
• Oral cavity
• Larynx
• Pharynx
• Uterine cervix (in females)
• Rectum and colon
Some evidence exists for the development of other cancers linked to tobacco-related toxins in the stomach, liver, and prostate.
Environmental tobacco smoke might be responsible for these cancers in nonsmoking bystanders:
• Breast
• Nasal sinus
• Bladder
• Uterine cervix (in daughters of women who smoke during pregnancy)
• Uterine cervix (in wives of men who smoke)
Larry Coffman describes quitting smoking:
Smoking is one of the hardest habits to break. After all, nicotine is a more powerful drug than cocaine, and more addictive.
I tried many times in my life to quit smoking, but it took the words "go home and get your affairs in order" to make me want to quit. I smoked my last cigarette just 24 hours before my chemotherapy and radiation were to begin.
If it helps to write about it, then by all means do so. Try getting a little memo pad that you can carry around, when the urge strikes; you just write down what you are doing, who you are with, the kind of weather you're having, and anything except about smoking. It might get you past the urge and help a little.
Man, oh man, to think that someone with lung cancer would keep on with the smoking habit, not to mention a loved one continuing ... but I do understand how hard it is to stop.

You have to really want to put them down for good in order to be successful. You can say "I want to quit" a dozen times a day, but until your mind catches up with your heart, you will be on that roller coaster. I know: I was on that coaster for many years.
I went into treatment in January 1996. In February, three other people came into treatment with limited stage SCLC. They were still smoking. By June of 1996, I was the only one of the four still not smoking. In October of 1996, I was the only one still alive.

I only know three things: four of four had limited stage SCLC, three of four smoked, and one of four survived. My best guess is that had they quit smoking, they MIGHT have survived.
Reading material about quitting smoking and information on organizations that can help you quit smoking are listed in Appendix A. A particularly good resource can be found at Quitnet, http://www.quitnet.org.

Summary
Your experience with lung cancer might be the most vulnerable, powerless experience of your life. Getting the support you need is critical to adequate recovery, especially during and after surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy.
Key points to remember:
• ALCASE, the American Cancer Society, and the Wellness Community offer various forms of support for lung cancer survivors, including support group meetings, buddy systems, wigs, lodging for out-of-town treatment, and help with quitting smoking.
• Deal overtly with issues of blame about smoking. If the person you perceive as assigning blame is a medical care provider, make it clear that you will seek care elsewhere if her opinion seems to be interfering with your care. Ask caregivers to entertain whatever opinions they will, but to evaluate you as an entire person, not just a smoker, and to give you the support you need regardless of their opinions.
• If you still smoke, consider quitting. Your recovery from treatment will improve and your chances of developing a second lung tumor or any of several other cancers will decrease. An enormous amount of assistance is available for those who want to quit smoking. See Appendix A for a list of organizations that can help.
• Various studies have shown that anxiety and depression are common among cancer survivors. Consider seeking help from a cancer counselor if you're having trouble with incessant crying, loss of appetite, insomnia, or other symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Seeing the after-effects of smoking to your body may help you quit smoking.

To stop smoking, it is very important. Doctors and dentists can be good sources of information about the health risks of smoking and about quitting. But, this task cannot be completed if the person who would like to quit smoking carries strong will power.

Go to your doctor, there are new prescription medications that can help. Basically how they work is they keep your brain stimulated in the same way nicotine does. So when you have a cigarette, there's absolutely no pay off. Coupled with your desire to quit, it'll have you off cigarettes without turning into a raging beast having nic-fits