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Smoking cessation for cancer patients – a question of quality of life
Lars Nielsen, Psychologist, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
Background:
For many years cancer patients have been overlooked, because a cancer diagnosis has been considered so serious, that it was not beneficial for the patients to attempt smoking cessation. Today the survival rates have improved dramatically, and therefore this argument no longer applies. Since January 2006, the Danish Cancer Society has been developing a smoking cessation program especially for cancer patients. The method has been tested on cancer patients by psychologists, and it is now being applied by trained nurses, in a pilot project at a large Danish hospital.
Results:
The first experiences have shown that for most patients it is experienced as a relief, when they are asked about their smoking habits. It gives hope. This is actually an area where they are able to affect the courses of events the disease takes.
Conclusion:
Working with smoking cessation has shown to improve the experienced quality of life for most of the patients involved in the project. A smoking cessation program should therefore be offered to all cancer patients at the time of the diagnosis. This would not only improve the chance of more efficient treatment with fewer side effects, but also improve the experienced quality of life.
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About the presenter
Lars Nielsen is a psychologist working on the smoking cessation program at the Danish Cancer Society. His work involves education of counsellors in motivational interviewing and developing new ways of counselling. Lars is currently working on an internet-based cessation program and a project about smoking cessation for cancer patients.
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