Program at John B Amos Cancer Center helps Polly Willson quit smoking

Fifty-four year old Polly Willson has fought her share of battles, with two of the toughest occurring within the last two years.

Last year, Polly was diagnosed with uterine cancer. When it was found, the cancer had already spread to her cervix and lymph nodes. She underwent an emergency hysterectomy in June 2010, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Polly is now cancer-free.

And in order to reduce her chances of having to go through a similar situation again, Polly took the advice of her oncologist to attend a smoking cessation program at the John B. Amos Cancer Center.

The program, called Fresh Start, meets once a week on four consecutive Thursdays and is led by David Fletcher, the cancer center’s outreach coordinator.

Polly and her husband enrolled in the course, set a quit date and haven’t had a cigarette since March.

But it certainly hasn’t been an easy path.

Polly smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and said she cannot remember a time in her life when she wasn’t a smoker. She’d tried to quit “a million times” throughout her life and referred to cigarettes as her best friend.

“It (was) the one thing that was constant in life,” she said. “It was with me through birth, it was with me through death, through my first divorce, through marriage again -- cigarettes have always been there.”

When Polly quit, she quit cold turkey, which she thinks is the best way to go.

“No matter what, nicotine is a drug and you’re going to go through withdrawal, period,” she said. “To me, the best way to do it is just do it and get it over with.”

Positive encouragement, such as praise from her 12-year-old daughter and the comfort of her husband going through the process with her, has helped Polly along the tough path. She said she’s also noticed that her clothes, hair and home smell better, that she can laugh without getting winded or coughing and that, yes, food does taste better.

People, especially women, are often concerned that quitting smoking will lead to weight gain. Polly admits that she has gained some weight and that she’ll often eat when she’s craving a cigarette, but she’s also started walking regularly and doesn’t mind “worrying about the weight later.”

“Even though it’s really tough not to smoke, I think I do feel better,” said Polly. “I can breathe. I can speak and not be short of breath. I can sing and I can laugh. That’s a big deal -- when you smoke so long and so much that you cannot really laugh, that’s a big deal. I can laugh now and I don’t lose my breath.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Program at John B Amos Cancer Center helps Polly Willson quit smoking."