Secondhand smoke

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06-07-15, 20:25
JustJoe25

Secondhand smoke

Does this bother anyone else? I have a family history of smoking. My uncle died of lung cancer in his early 50s he was a heavy smoker. My grandma was on oxygen for 15 years before passing away from being a heavy smoker. My mom was a heavy smoker and had breast cancer at age 34. My dad to this day is still a very heavy smoker. Even when I get in the car with him he lights up. My mom also went back to smoking a few years ago and was smoking in the house! It use to bother my allergies and I would tell her this. Now she's been away from smoking for a good 3-4 years but I'm so worried she put my health at risk. My brothers and I have not ever smoked. I read articles that not only can second hand smoking cause lung cancer but I read pancreatic cancer as well! Though I've read mixed reports as some sites say secondhand smoke is s risk factor and others say it's not. Anyways does anyone else worry about this? I'm moving out with my fiancée next summer once we finish school but I fear what if my families bad habits has already taken a toll on myself? I can accept my own bad habits I've done such as eating too much fast food a few years back which I've gave up and won't go near s McDonald. I also gave up eating Pork. So yeah, does this contribute to anyone else's HA and how do you deal with it? I ask my Dad to please not light up near me but he's hard headed and doesn't listen...
06-07-15, 20:37
Liv7117

Re: Secondhand smoke

Hi, I'm in a similar situation. My mom is a very heavy smoker and constantly is smoking when I'm around. She has been this way since I was a baby, and I've been inhaling her smoke all my life. I'm only 16 so I can't drive on my own yet and constantly have to deal with being in the car with her when she is smoking. I always ask her to stop, or at the very least to not do it around me or in the car but she never listens. It really bothers me as well, and for a while I was really worried about lung cancer. I've now learned to just put it out of my head and try not to worry about it. Whenever she smokes around me, I cover my mouth to try and minimize the amount of smoke I'm inhaling. I've purposely never googled the risks/effects of secondhand smoke, and I suggest you do the same. There's nothing we can really do but not smoke ourselves. Try not to worry too much about it, I'm sure you will be okay:)
06-07-15, 20:48
JustJoe25

Re: Secondhand smoke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liv7117

Hi, I'm in a similar situation. My mom is a very heavy smoker and constantly is smoking when I'm around. She has been this way since I was a baby, and I've been inhaling her smoke all my life. I'm only 16 so I can't drive on my own yet and constantly have to deal with being in the car with her when she is smoking. I always ask her to stop, or at the very least to not do it around me or in the car but she never listens. It really bothers me as well, and for a while I was really worried about lung cancer. I've now learned to just put it out of my head and try not to worry about it. Whenever she smokes around me, I cover my mouth to try and minimize the amount of smoke I'm inhaling. I've purposely never googled the risks/effects of secondhand smoke, and I suggest you do the same. There's nothing we can really do but not smoke ourselves. Try not to worry too much about it, I'm sure you will be okay:)

Thanks I try to do the same and turn the other way when my dad smokes. While I'm 27 I at this time do not own a car so sometimes I'm stuck getting in a car with my dad just to run errands which makes it frustrating. I am working on purchasing my own car this fall. Pancreatic cancer is a HUGE fear of mine, still is ever since I had digestive issues and I know the risk factors are smoking and a diet high in meats. I must admit I do eat a diet high in meats but I try my best to eat as many veggies as I can. Out of my family I probably eat veggies the most but that isn't saying a lot lol.
06-07-15, 22:42
Liv7117

Re: Secondhand smoke

Pancreatic cancer is really unlikely in someone as young as you are. I knew someone who had it and she was in her 70s, had smoked heavily all her life and it ran in her family. I really wouldn't be worried about it of I were you. Also, smoking used to be a lot more common years ago and I'm sure many elderly people today inhaled a lot of secondhand smoke--they're still here!:)
07-07-15, 01:26
JustJoe25

Re: Secondhand smoke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liv7117

Pancreatic cancer is really unlikely in someone as young as you are. I knew someone who had it and she was in her 70s, had smoked heavily all her life and it ran in her family. I really wouldn't be worried about it of I were you. Also, smoking used to be a lot more common years ago and I'm sure many elderly people today inhaled a lot of secondhand smoke--they're still here!:)

Haha you are right about older people who inhaled a lot more secondhand smoke. I know that PC is extremely rare at my age, but unfortunately I've come across cases of young people getting it online, but I do not know if there were other risk factors involved.
07-07-15, 02:00
Liv7117

Re: Secondhand smoke

If you look online you can find anything. I convinced myself that I had sinus cancer because I found a few cases of it online. When I was worried about sinus cancer one thing that helped was looking at statistics of how many people were diagnosed each year and then dividing that by the population. The percentage of having it was so small, and if you factor age into that it's even smaller. So for pancreatic cancer, about 24,000 men are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, and if you divide that by the population (318 million) the chances of being diagnosed are like .00007! And with you being 27, that makes it even more unlikely. I know this may not be the most exact method, but it was always reassuring for me:)
07-07-15, 02:32
JustJoe25

Re: Secondhand smoke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liv7117

If you look online you can find anything. I convinced myself that I had sinus cancer because I found a few cases of it online. When I was worried about sinus cancer one thing that helped was looking at statistics of how many people were diagnosed each year and then dividing that by the population. The percentage of having it was so small, and if you factor age into that it's even smaller. So for pancreatic cancer, about 24,000 men are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, and if you divide that by the population (318 million) the chances of being diagnosed are like .00007! And with you being 27, that makes it even more unlikely. I know this may not be the most exact method, but it was always reassuring for me:)

Haha you are right the statistics are certainly on my side. I was just nearly over this pancreatic cancer worry until I started feeling what appears to be a swollen lymph node on my chest on the right side sling with collarbone pain on the right side which hasn't helped my fear any as I'm now worried I could have PC that spread to my lymph nodes. I don't know what else I could be feeling or why I would have collarbone pain. :(
07-07-15, 03:16
Liv7117

Re: Secondhand smoke

Enlarged lymph nodes are really common. I have 4 of them, 3 on my neck/jaw and one on my collarbone. My doctor says its normal to be able to feel a few lymph nodes, they stay raised from infection sometimes. As for the collarbone pain- do you lift weights? If you do, it might just be a simple muscle strain. If not, you may have slept on it the wrong way. Either way, collarbone pain is nothing to be concerned about. I get aches and pains all over the place, it just happens sometimes, but don't be concerned. PC is so unlikely, it's not even worth worrying about!
07-07-15, 03:28
JustJoe25

Re: Secondhand smoke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liv7117

Enlarged lymph nodes are really common. I have 4 of them, 3 on my neck/jaw and one on my collarbone. My doctor says its normal to be able to feel a few lymph nodes, they stay raised from infection sometimes. As for the collarbone pain- do you lift weights? If you do, it might just be a simple muscle strain. If not, you may have slept on it the wrong way. Either way, collarbone pain is nothing to be concerned about. I get aches and pains all over the place, it just happens sometimes, but don't be concerned. PC is so unlikely, it's not even worth worrying about!

Wow I didn't know that about collarbone lymph nodes. Everything I've read is bad about them that I've seen. I can't even confirm its a lymph node but I'm assuming it is because I don't recall it being there before. I do lift weights but I just returned to the gym and I only have done legs, abs, and cardio so far. I've actually been having the collarbone pain on and off since mid May but never felt any lymph nodes.
07-07-15, 04:12
Liv7117

Re: Secondhand smoke

Yeah I was very worried about my collarbone lymph node for a while, but the doctor says it is too small and mobile to be anything bad, so he's not concerned. I really don't think the collarbone pain is anything worrisome, especially if it's been on and off for the past couple months