Anne (centre) was recently diagnosed with laryngeal cancer (cancer of the vocal chord), and her doctor told her that this was due to smoking. She knew she had to quit as soon as possible, before undergoing treatment, and she joined Yorkshire Smokefree to gain support.
Her friends Janet and Aidan were also smokers, and they decided to quit alongside Anne to help support her.
All three have had weekly face to face appointments with advisor Claire, and they all used patches as part of their treatment.
Anne says “I tried the inhalator in the beginning, but felt as if it wasn’t doing anything. I used the patches on their own for a while. I then decided to give the inhalator another go, and found I could taste it and feel the benefit!”
Aidan says “the idea of patches didn’t appeal until it was explained to me how they work. At first, I wasn’t sure if they were helping, but when I forgot to put one on one day, I realised that they were really helping me with my quit”.
Janet says “one of the biggest things that has helped me was getting rid of everything from the house such as tobacco, ashtrays, lighters. If I got a craving, I couldn’t smoke and had to distract myself to get through it”.
Anne, Janet and Aidan all agreed that having their carbon monoxide reading done on a weekly basis helped keep them motivated. They were delighted to see how quickly it came down after quitting.
Janet and Aidan’s main motivation for quitting was to support Anne, but they still saw lots of benefits for themselves. Aidan says “the circulation in my hands has definitely improved, I’m not coughing anymore, and the colour of my teeth has improved. I’m also enjoying not having ‘a cigarette lifestyle’ where I’m constantly thinking about smoking”. Janet says “I’m pleased to have got rid of the smell of smoking, I’m not coughing anymore and I’m sleeping much better”.
Anne has also noticed the benefits: “I’m saving lots of money, and my food tastes a lot better! I also know it’s the best thing I can do for my health whilst I undergo cancer treatment”.
