If You Feel Like This Quit Is Tough.....

[Ann]

If you feel like this quit is tough


This is something that I read over and over when I think this quit is getting hard. I have failed so many times in the past - I have never been this determined, or afraid of what might happen if I don't stop. Just promise not to smoke today - then deal with tomorrow tomorrow. That is how I have to deal with it right now.

I read so much about how tough quitting is, about how you gave in to a crave because it was just too tough. Well....maybe....quitting can be unpleasant, no doubt. But tough?
Tough is going to the doc at age 50 with a 'pinched nerve' in your neck...diagnosed as metasticized small cell carcinoma....in all major organs including brain...99% of small cell carcinomas are caused by smoking.
Tough is looking into the eyes of the wife who planned to spend the rest of her life by your side, seeing the pain and bewilderment as she struggles to be brave for you while fighting the fear of living out the rest of her life alone. Tough is feeling the desperation in her usually tender touch, as she grasps your hand, or your arm, or any part of you just to hold on for a little longer.
Tough is looking into the eyes of the teenagers who have loved and idolized you all their lives as they struggle to comprehend what they've been told and the uncertainty they face.....dad won't be there at graduation....dad won't be there when they marry....day won't be there....for anything.
Tough is knowing you did this to yourself and there's not one thing you can do at this point to change the outcome. No amount of sacrifice, no promises to change your life....nothing will alleviate the horror of realizing what you've done to the ones who love you the most.
Oh, you'd tried to quit a few times, but it was too 'tough'.....after all, you're only 50 and all those bad things happen to old people......and you're gonna quit before you reach that point.
My friend was diagnosed two weeks ago this coming Tuesday....Now he knows what tough really is. Would you like to tell him how tough your quit is? Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

found on Quitnet

[Don]

The odds of calamity certainly favor the smoker.
Each little puff a little "one-armed bandit".

[Bubb]

Small (oat) cell carcinoma....my father was diagnosed in May and buried in the first week of October. The cancer ran through him like $hit through a goose. He didn't have a chance. Radiation and chemotherapy only made his remaining days even more painful. A firing squad would have been more merciful. Whether we continue to smoke or not is up to each of us. The demons we fight were injected by those little bundles of chemicals called cigarettes. We can thank our own curiosity to try them....then pass along a thanks to the tobacco companies for their expertise in creating the monster that will live within us for the rest of our days.

[jpkwitter]

(((((Bubb)))))...so very sad the devastation an addiction can cause...and it is legal.

[Flo]

Thank you Ann. Articles like this may not reach smokers but they certainly help to reinforce my quit.

And Bubb, thanks for your post. It must be so painful to post something like this. Dad's are so special.

[KAREN]

First of all...Bubb I am sorry to hear of your loss. That cancer is so hard and it took both my parents with lung cancer.

Thanks for posting this Ann as I have had smoking dreams and had a couple cravings lately and I keep telling myself that it is easier to stay quit then to smoke and try and quit again.

Hugs,

Karen