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What do you do when...


Nick C

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I had a curtain installed come to the house Tuesday.

I could smell he was a smoker.

I sat and worked from home while he installed the curtains, and debated do I say something about Mom...about CT screening studies. How do I say it and not be a preacher...Mom hated being preached to.

I decided he was someone I'd never see again, but perhaps God made my windows an odd size so that I would need custom curtains...and brought me to that store, and made a chain of human event happen so that this installer would now be someone who I could help.

So I gave him a twenty and I write down on a piece of paper the IELCAP website (which has good detection/cessation articles). And I said, "Listen, I am just sharing this website with you. My mom just passed away of lung cancer and was very big on taking care of herself and being preventative. If you are into your health just check out this website. I'm not judging or preaching, I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't share. Merry Christmas."

We had chatted quite a bit while he installed the curtains. Two kids a wife, and a nice person.

Is this a way to change lives?

Am I out of line? Should I do this and take risks more?

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Nick,

I think you approached the situation in a very non-threatening manner.

Your loss is very new and raw. I know you feel like you want to do something, but unless a smoker has had his/her head in a cave, they already know the score. Don't be surprised if you try this in the future and it isn't met with the same grace as this man's apparent response.

Welthy

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Nick,

Very well done...I try to be as gentle as possible with people I see or know smoke. The gal where I get my scans done smokes or used too. She is a single mom and my comment to her was, if you are going to smoke. Do yourself a favor and make sure you get a CT scan every year, just to be safe. I wish I would have had someone say, please quit and understood the reprocusssions. Now when I see her she comes up and gives me a hug and says thank you thank you, I quit and shows me the patch on her arm.

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It worked Nick, and good on you.

I often walk by smokers and I always mentally tell them to quit smoking. I suppose I would not do it to some guy on the street, but under similar circumstance ss yours, maybe I would tell my story and encourage them to quit smoking.

Don M

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I try and tell any smoker that will listen that they need to quit although I won't harass strangers on the street as I probably would not have liked that either. Three members of my family quit along with me at my diagnosis and only my older brother in law still smokes and I harass him constantly. I figure maybe my hard lesson can save someone else's life.

Nick you did good to tell him.

Lilly

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If you feel it is right and the person is approachable, then it is the right thing to do. My mom and I did it once to a salesgirl :) However, I wouldn't want someone pulling a cookie out of my hands, so I think it is just a situation by situation thing.

Good for you for following your gut!

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