Smoking and cancer treatment

If you are having treatment for cancer, stopping smoking may help the treatment work better. It can help your body respond to the treatment and heal more quickly. If you stop smoking before having surgery:

  • You are likely to recover more quickly
  • You are more likely have a shorter stay in hospital
  • Your wound is likely to heal more quickly. It is best to stop smoking 8 weeks before having surgery. But even stopping a few weeks before and not smoking after surgery will reduce the risk of complications.

Research has shown that stopping smoking during and after radiotherapy may make the treatment more effective. It can also reduce the side effects of radiotherapy. You are likely to have fewer side effects from cancer treatment if you do not smoke and they also tend to be less severe. Stopping smoking may also lower the risk of cancer coming back after treatment.

Quitting smoking is the best thing you'll ever do 

Stopping smoking can make a drastic improvement to your lifestyle and health in ways you might not expect. Once you stop smoking, some of the benefits are immediate and some are longer-term.

Your body with start to feel better after 20 minutes, when pulse rate returns to normal. After 8 hours, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by more than half and oxygen levels return to normal.

Within just 2 days:

  • Carbon monoxide will be eliminated from the body
  • Lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris
  • There is no nicotine in the body
  • Your ability to taste and smell is improved

 After 72 hours:

  • Breathing becomes easier
  • Bronchial tubes begin to relax
  • Energy levels increase

After 2 to12 weeks, your circulation improves.

In just 3 to 9 months, coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung function increases by up to 10%.

Your health will keep improving. The benefits of quitting smoking increase over a longer time. After 1 year, your risk of heart disease is about half compared with a person who is still smoking. After 10 years, the risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker, and after 15 years, risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked. 

Visit Smokefree for more information on how to quit smoking with a free Personal Quit Plan. You're more likely to quit with the right support. Find the combination that's right for you in just 3 easy steps.