Do you know anyone who got cancer from smoking?

Question

I actually don't. I know allot of old people who smoke, and they seem pretty ok. I know it's bad for you, I don't smoke. But why do some people live till' 90 and smoke everyday?

Answer 1

I was diagnosed with a type of leukemia, aml, when I was 21, and again at 23.  Most people dont realize leukemia can be a smoking cancer, but benzene exposure is a direct link to my type, and benzene is one of the 4000 chemicals in cig smoke that the near 600 additives make while being burned.  I quit smoking at 23

My uncle was diagnosed with lung and throat cancer that was directly related to his smoking.

A friends dad lived til he was 95 and had smoked since he was a kid, didnt get cancer.  But he had emphasema so bad he couldnt walk more than a few steps even while using oxygen.

My mom has a bad cough and a constantly sore throat, but still smokes.

Not everyone gets cancer from smoking. Some people dont.  But there are a lot of people that do.

And even if you never get cancer, enough smoke exposure will lead to copd, irritate the lungs and throat, leave you susceptable to infections since your body is already busy trying to fight the damage from irritation. It will irritate sinuses and cause allergies to be worse.

Even if you never get cancer, a person who has been smoking for 70 years is not healthy.

Answer 2

My 3 deceased grandparents.

Everyone has a unique make up and build. We all react to things in our own way.

I am sure for every 90 y.o. smoker there are many who were burried in their 50's. It's just a statistical fact.

Answer 3

You don't get cancer from smoking. Smoking increases your chances of getting cancer. There is a difference. Things like genetics, your general health, how well you eat, and how often you exercise play a huge role.

Answer 4

I can only think of one person I know who got lung cancer of the kind that can be caused by smoking, a friend of my grandmother's, a former heavy smoker who was I think about 90 when she learned she had it. That's not really surprising, because only one out of 18 smokers get lung cancer, and most of those who do get it when they're old.

Anyway, cancer is always a matter of probability, because there are redundant safety mechanisms in the cell and body and these all have to be knocked out our defeated before you get an invasive cancer. And tobacco is only a mild carcinogen.

I just read that researchers have found a gene that causes some people to hold smoke in their lungs longer, and that these people are at much higher risk for cancer than other smokers. And there are other known risk factors as well, such as exposure to the radon gas that can seep up from basements.

Another thing that many people don't know is that most smokers don't die of a smoking-related disease. And often when they do, it's at a ripe old age, e.g., my dad died of COPD but he was 86. None of which is to suggest that smoking isn't bad for you, it is, but the risks get blown up in health class because they're trying to scare kids and so people end up thinking it's worse than it is.