Most of us know that Paul Newman died the other day, an event which set off a lot of remembrances for all of us. We'll all miss his extraordinary talent.
I was interested to find out that he died of lung cancer at age 83. Apparently he used to be a heavy smoker until he quit in his 50's. When he was seen a few months ago in a wheelchair coming out of the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, he had just received treatment for lung cancer.
He once said he was amazed that he survived all that booze, smoking and car racing.
Experts say that, although giving up smoking significantly reduces your chances of developing lung cancer, that risk rarely goes right down to that of somebody who has never smoked. Lung tissue cannot be replaced once it is gone or badly damaged. However, if you are a smoker and you do quit, your risk of developing lung cancer and other fatal diseases starts falling immediately.
One in every three cancer deaths is lung cancer.
More U.S. citizens die of lung cancer than the combined totals of breast, prostate, liver, kidney and melonoma cancers.
Approximately 439 Americans die each day due to lung cancer.
Currently only 16% of lung cancer diagnoses are at the earliest stages.
Paul Newman lived to be a rather ripe old age. Still, one gets the feeling that he could've lived longer had he not smoked for over 30 years.
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1 comment:
I have a great fear of lung cancer because both my parents died from it, and I've smoked for 30 years plus - but was finally successful in quitting this past year. (I had quit before for a couple of years but started again, so it is a constant struggle.) My grandmother, like Paul Newman, lived into her 80s and she smoked until her dying day...but she was lucky and I'm sure would have lived much longer had she not smoked. (I've heard that smoking is just as addictive as heroin, if not more so!) So I'm just glad I'm now smoke free.
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