There are some of us out there--diagnosed with cancer and then continued to smoke cigarettes. I was one of those people. Basically, as soon as I was told I had a very suspicious mammogram, I went out side to wait for my husband and was puffing away.

This might seem crazy to those who have never smoked or been addicted to nicotine. It seems crazy to smoke at all knowing all the damage it does but then when you have already sat in that chemo chair it becomes even more absurd.

I am writing this post to tell of my experience with quitting after being diagnosed with cancer. In the hopes it might help someone else do the same. First, I would like to point out that it would be the hardest time to quit during the first few months after being diagnosed. Your mind is not in the right state to take on such a mental endeavor.

I would not advise waiting three years like I did, but I think eventually a light bulb came on my head and said "hey, Kristi, you might actually live through this breast cancer experience so you have to quit"!

One important and major thing is that I became mentally ready. I was embarrassed that I had the nerve to light a cigarette after I had already been diagnosed with cancer. Did I want to put myself through cancer again? I did not blame myself for smoking causing my breast cancer, I will never know if it did contribute so i just don't bother myself with thoughts on that aspect. What is done is done and all I can try to do is help my body be more healthy in the future.

I have heard that reformed smokers are the worst! They tend to get on everyone--I know now why they do this. Because its really not that hard to quit. Think about what amazing things your are doing for you body -- getting rid of all those chemicals that come along with the nicotine.

It is quite difficult in the beginning, I'm not going to sugar coat it. My first night after dinner without smoking, my husband and I were enjoying a few glasses of wine on our deck. I said to him, "ok, what do we do with ourselves"? That was my time to have a smoke while enjoying my wine. It was rough.

I did have cravings of course. What I read was that a craving will last 3 minutes. Wait out those three minutes. Its doable.

I am no expert on quiting smoking. I just had to quit cold turkey and am convinced it is the only way. Using the patch or other items of that nature only prolong the inevitable.( you will have to go through withdraw eventually). Your body needs 72 hours to be clear of nicotine. That is when the cravings are the strongest. After that time period dealing with your triggers and times of day you smoke is another obstacle. Slowly weaning yourself off nicotine rarely works.

I have found a terrific website called www.whyquit.com. That is what helped me to quit. You can read reaffirming messages about how good it feels to be in a non-smoking world and enjoying more than you did when you smoked.

One thing I like that they said on the site was that if you were going to feel as horrible as you do the first few weeks after quiting for the next twenty years they would advise continuing to smoke. But it is true that after a while you don't think about it, wake up feeling better, don't stink...i can go on and on.

Take a look at the website if you feel you might be ready. good luck!