Lest we forget…

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On this Veteran’s Day, we would be remiss not to thank the thousands of men and women who serve and remember those who have died in the cause of freedom. My parents used to take me to our local cemetery where the American Legion guys would solemnly fire a 21 gun salute at exactly 11AM and we would lay some flowers on the graves. Those were simpler times, before Viet Nam and all that has followed, but we still need them and I honor their service.

That said, I have wondered over the years how many thousands of men (and women) might have died from cancer caused by smoking that started when they joined the military. In searching for some information on this, I came across this article, actually from a “pro-smoking” magazine, that is a reasonably balanced history of tobacco in the military and admits to the relationship.

Focusing on prostate cancer, there is NO doubt that smoking increases your risk for developing the disease, and if you have prostate cancer, you definitely reduce your length of survival by smoking. I doubt there are many smokers who read this blog, but if you know someone who is fighting prostate cancer be sure to make them aware of this. It is probably one thing they could do (besides EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE…) that could increase their survival… more than any supplement which we all continue to put false hopes in. In one (of many) articles evaluating the risk of biochemical relapse (rising PSA) after radical prostatectomy (N=6538) former (N=2086) and current smokers  (N=2214) were 1.5 times more likely to have relapse than never smokers (N=2238). If the men had quit > 10 years, their risk returned to the same as the never smokers.

So, if you know a vet (or non-vet) who is still smoking, thank them for their service, but give them a hug to encourage their smoking cessation.