Related Question on the Smoking Addiction

[Linda661]

I want to follow-up on Sheri's thread about the addiction with another question: my mom also is exhibiting that desire from time to time and I agree that's a normal part of the process -- those statistics of "staying quit" (15%) aren't encouraging. Mom was put on nicotine patches upon initial hospitalization -- those quit in January/February sometime; now she is 3 months without smoking so far.

Right now, she is not in an environment where she really could take up smoking again easily and I think that helps somewhat right now. But, there are times she is posturing to me when we are out at the cancer center that she really "wants one".....sooner or later I wonder whether she will outright ask me to bring some in for her.....that part worries me a bit as the child and caregiver (especially when the steroid anger thing is running): she is an adult and I am not sure I can really stop her if she really decides to do that again, especially when she comes home.

Here's the other "rub" to this whole thing: I smoke (I won't go into my own quit times and everything that goes along with that -- right now my doc says now's not the time for me to attempt quitting again with everything that is going on for me). I don't smoke around mom and never will (and let's all hope my next quit day can reasonably be soon and this time it will stay). But you can see how sticky this could be.......how in the world am I gonna' be able to support her in this part, without the risk of just giving in to her in an emotional moment that will pass....yet it's her life....is this making any sense to anyone?

Any advice would be appreciated and would be fine as private messages -- I don't want to turn this board into a smoking cessation thing, but this issue is real concern of mine in supporting my mom through this.

Thanks in advance, Linda

[ginnyde]

Earl and I both stopped smoking 3 months before his dx. When the lc came back in his liver, Earl started smoking about 3 cigarettes a day. This damn disease had slowly robbed him of all the things he enjoyed. The seizures, brain surgery and wbr took away his ablility to concentrate leaving him unable to work or read or really even follow a movie. Radiation took care of the eating. Chemo robbed him of his physical strength. The only pleasure he had was smoking - did I get mad at him - not for one second.

For the record, I have not had one cigarette since I stopped - I know I only have one quit in me. Do I still want, sure, every once and a while, but it passes very quickly.