Hey Echo. It is scary.. no doubt about it. My step father died of lung cancer within 6 months of knowing he had it. He had quit smking about 5 years before at the age of 60. It seems to be so fast if it is inoperable. My family has a huge incidence of lung cancer. Even as great as I feel right now (I know I will never smoke again and hardly have even an urge anymore)this disease is one I cannot get out of my mind. I have even talked to my family about it because if I get it, I like my other family members, will not have a chance.. The one thing I do look to is that the only 2 members of my mother's family that quit smoking are now in their late 60's and have not developed the disease and seem to be healthy. I had a thorough check.. lungs, EKG, blood, hormones, the works 2 years ago. My doctor said my lungs were clear and that my heart was just fine and I was healthy. It prompted me to run to quit.. slowpoke me.. took 2 years.. lol I plan to see doctors regularly to get that lung check.. I want to beat the odds in my family. Good luck to us all.. we have to try hard to take care of the rest of our lives.. no one is going to do it for us.. Take care ! Christine [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 34 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 850 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $119 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

Hi everyone, I came here almost on a daily bases. Sorry I don�t post much, I�m more of a listener than a talker. However, I just got the urge to share what I experienced in my line of work, hopefully to keep some of us motivated. I work in the medical field. Cardiology section. I see patients every day (in the technical support field) and I can tell you that 90% of them are there due to their smoking. I of all people should have known better. But I began smoking way before I got into the medical field. Poor excuse, I know. The day that my eyes were wide open was when I was called into the MICU (that is where the sickest of the sick end up). I was asked to see a patient for severe respiratory issues. I looked at his chart and I noticed that he was born on the same exact day that I was. Looking further into his history, I discovered that he was a smoker of 30 years (same as me) and now he has end stage lung cancer. His doctor came up to me and shook his head and said, �Poor guy, he is dying.� I looked at this patient and he looked so young to me. I imagined that he had a pretty wife and young kids. I said a little prayer and did what I came there to do. He was on my mind for weeks until finally I decided to quit. This man will never know that he was my motivation; he is no longer with us. If you could only see what the end result of smoking looks like, I am sure that you will be shocked. I see people what have smoked less than I did and they can�t even relax because they are slowly suffocating and can�t get comfortable in any position. They can�t even talk a full sentence without trying to catch their breath. I am more aware now. It is so strange that while I was a smoker, my mind did not absorb these facts. Now that I am not a smoker, I see with different eyes what smoking does to people. I am reminded every day of why I should remain quit and no doubt that I will remain this way. By the way � the man with lung cancer � from date of diagnosis to the date of death was less than 90 days! I didn't write this to depress anyone and I hope I don't. Echo [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 64 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 969 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $288 [B]Life Gained:[

Hi Echo, I see you're a New Years' quitter like me. Good for you. I found your post very moving. Like you, I now wonder at my brains' ability to block out all the harmful information about smoking for all those years. There is something about this addiction that turns us smarties into dummies. When people go through a tramatic event in their lives, they are able to compartmentalize it. Lock it away in their minds so that they don't have to deal with it. I think it must be the same with addictive behavior. We only see, hear, think, what is easiest for us to deal with. Thanks for your post. It has really made me think. I'm trying not to be a dummy anymore! [IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e58/saggysac/funny%20ones/thChunkyLol.gif[/IMG] [color=Red]redrosie[/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 64 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,552 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $531.2 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 13 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Echo, I am also in the medical field. Smokers have an excellent way of blocking out the facts of what smoking does to you. We tell ourselves it will happen to others, not me, I don't smoke much or inhale as much as the other person does. In todays society, we have so much information at our disposal and if we ignore it......Shame on us!! If we continue to smoke after knowing what we know, we have to be ready to accept the results. It is a matter of making the right decision. Obesity is the next big struggle in life for many but, that's another support site. Congratulations on making the right choice. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 11/30/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 96 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,450 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $480 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 11 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 45

Thank you for sharing. We all need something like this to keep us on our toes. Thank You. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/12/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 268 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 5,369 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1206 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 36 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 22 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

Thanks for a GREAT reminder of why we need to beat this addiction!!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/21/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 319 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,394 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2392.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 41 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10