What can I do to help myself?

Stopping Smoking

How can I give up smoking?


There are lots of different ways to give up smoking, and each individual will have their own preference. There are some very good and informative websites (see below) that give information about the many benefits of quitting smoking, discuss the difficulties people have and talk about the pros and cons of each method. In addition your GP or Head and Neck Specialist Nurse can give you advice and support you. Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do for your health, wealth and family!

There are several support services available to help you on this journey:


Giving up is rarely easy. Unfortunately smoking is related to many Head and Neck cancers. We also know that if you do continue to smoke during treatment for Head & Neck cancer there is:

  • a reduced chance of being cured of the cancer
  • an increased chance of severe side effects and complications of treatment


For more information about giving up smoking see:
Giving up

Other reasons to quit smoking


Health

Stopping smoking can have dramatically positive effects on how long you live and your quality of life in general. It reduces the risk of developing other cancers, heart diseases and strokes.  It also reduces your risk of getting lung diseases and problems with your blood circulation. Stopping smoking also serves can improve fertility and reducing complications in pregnancies.

For more information on the health benefits please go to: http://www.nhs.uk/smokefree/why-quit/what-happens-when-you-quit 


Money 

Stopping smoking will have a huge impact on your pocket, if you smoke 20 cigarettes per day you could save around £2,600 each year (2016 figures).

Work out how much you can save at: http://www.helpwithsmoking.com/smoking-calculator.php 


Family & Society

Becoming smoke free has wider implications, by protecting your family, friends and carers from second hand smoke. Children are also much less likely to smoke if their parents/carers are smoke free, there also further implications if smoking in the car whilst with children. Many public places now ban smoking, including new legislation (from October 2015) banning smoking whilst driving with passengers in the car. It is getting increasingly harder to locate safe public places to smoke socially

Swimming

If you have a stoma and are interested in swimming, you will need special equipment and training so that you don't get water in your lungs! 

You will need the help of the staff of your local swimming pool. They must have training in helping someone with breathing difficulties who has a tracheostomy or laryngectomy.

For more information contact the National Association of Laryngectomee Clubs (NALC), who have put together this helpful leaflet: 'Swimming after Laryngectomy'

If you can't swim any more to keep fit there are plenty of things you can still do! There are so many different types of sport and activities to try. It may open up a whole new world to you in the form of friendships, opportunities and experiences. It may even uncover your hidden talents! 

Please visit the Cancer Research website for further information about life with a stoma.

Reducing alcohol consumption

How can I reduce the amount of alcohol I drink?

Cancer UK have produced a leaflet which gives practical help in reducing the amount of alcohol you drink:
Drink less alcohol leaflet - cut your cancer risk leaflet

Also this NHS link provides useful general and additional information:
Link: Drinking and alcohol       

Am I drinking too much and am I addicted to alcohol?

There is a very good website which can help you decide! Try out the questionnaire here

Also consider the following questions:

1. Once you have taken a drink of alcohol, do you find it difficult or impossible to control the amount you drink?

2. If when you want to reduce your alcohol intake or quit entirely, do you find it impossible to reduce or leave it alone completely?

3. If you leave off the alcohol do you find yourself giving in to the temptation of drinking regularly or heavily once more?

If you have answered “Yes” to any or all of these questions, you have signs of alcohol addiction and should seek professional help.

 

What is a unit of alcohol - I get confused?

Units of alcohol should not be confused with number of drinks! Many common drinks contain more than one than one unit of alcohol.

So staying at around 14 units of alcohol per week means drinking no more than:
· 6 pints (568mls) of 4% beer or lager

· 10 cans (330mls) 4% beer or lager

· 8 small bottles (330mls) of 5% beer

· 5 pints (568mls) of 4.5% cider

· 6 glasses (175mls) of 13% wine

· 1.5 bottles (75mls) of 12.5% wine

· 14 single shots (25mls glasses) of 40% spirits

· 12 small bottles (275mls bottles) 4% Alcopops

You can calculate the number of units of alcohol that you drink per week (and the number of calories you're taking in by drinking alcohol!) by clicking on the Link below:

Alcohol unit calculator

If you are one of those people who like to track and calculate the number of units of alcohol you are drinking Drinkaware have a free app which can be downloaded from their website below:

Downloadable Alcohol Unit calculator app

How much alcohol is it safe to drink?

The latest advice from the UK Chief Medical Officers is that there is also no completely safe level of drinking for adults. (Latest guidelines on drinking alcohol). However by sticking within the recommended guidelines, most people can keep the risk of harming their health to a low level.

The recommended guidelines are to not drink more than 14 units per week on a regular basis.

  • If you do drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread this evenly over 3 days or more.
  • If you want to cut down the amount your drinking, a good way to help achieve this is to have several drink-free days each week.

 

Is there a link between H&N cancer and drinking alcohol?

Yes. There is no doubt that drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer and is a contributing factor in causing:

  • mouth cancer
  • throat cancer (oropharyngeal cancer, hypopharyngeal cancer)
  • larynx cancer (voice box) and
  • oesophageal cancer (gullet, food pipe).

If you drink and smoke this increases your risk further.

The more you drink the more your risk of alcohol-related cancers.

If you are a heavy drinker, cutting down on what you drink reduces the risk of these cancers.

For more information see:

Alcohol as a risk of causing Head & Neck cancer

Are there other proven risks of drinking too much alcohol?

Yes, uncontrolled and uncontrollable drinking can affect relationships and performance at work.

Alcohol is contributing factor in 15% of road accidents, 26% of drownings, and 36% of deaths in fires. A quarter of accidents at work are drink-related. It can also potentially make you a victim of crime.

Drinking too much (anything over the recommended daily limit) can have a number of health risks for you and including heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke, liver disease and falls.

33,000 people die each year due to alcohol-related incidents or associated health problems.

Alcohol causes at least 9000 cancer deaths in the UK each year. Apart from Head and Neck cancer it is also linked to breast, bowel and liver cancer.

After smoking, alcohol kills more people in the UK than any other drug.

See Link for further information: