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			How Is Smoking Related to Cancer?How Can Smoking-Related Cancers Be Prevented?Cancer ScreeningHow Is Cancer Treated?Colorectal Cancer and OstomiesReferences
		
What is Cancer?Cancer refers to diseases in which abnormal cells divide out of control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems, which help the body get rid of toxins.1,2
There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start—for example, lung cancer begins in the lung and laryngeal cancer begins in the larynx (voice box).1
Symptoms can include:3
A thickening or lump in any part of the body
Weight loss or gain with no known reason
A sore that does not heal
Hoarseness or a cough that does not go away
A hard time swallowing
Discomfort after eating
Changes in bowel or bladder habits
Unusual bleeding or discharge
Feeling weak or very tiredOn This Page
			How Is Smoking Related to Cancer?How Can Smoking-Related Cancers Be Prevented?Cancer ScreeningHow Is Cancer Treated?Colorectal Cancer and OstomiesReferencesHow Is Smoking Related to Cancer?Smoking Can Cause Cancer Almost Anywhere in Your Body,
Smoking can cause cancer and then block your body from fighting it:4
Poisons in cigarette smoke can weaken the body’s immune system, making it harder to kill cancer cells. When this happens, cancer cells keep growing without being stopped.
Poisons in tobacco smoke can damage or change a cell’s DNA. DNA is the cell’s “instruction manual” that controls a cell’s normal growth and function. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumor.Doctors have known for years that smoking causes most lung cancers. It’s still true today, when nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes. In fact, smokers have a greater risk for lung cancer today than they did in 1964, even though they smoke fewer cigarettes. One reason may be changes in how cigarettes are made and what chemicals they contain.5
Treatments are getting better for lung cancer, but it still kills more men and women than any other type of cancer. In the United States, more than 7,300 nonsmokers die each year from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.6Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers.
Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body, including the:5
Blood (acute myeloid leukemia)
Bladder
Cervix
Colon and rectum
Esophagus
Kidney and renal pelvis
Larynx
Liver
Lungs
Mouth and throat
Pancreas
Stomach
Trachea, lung. and bronchusMen with prostate cancer who smoke may be more likely to die from these diseases than nonsmokers.5
Smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco, also causes cancer, including cancers of the:7
Esophagus
Mouth and throat
PancreasTop of PageHow Can Smoking-Related Cancers Be Prevented?Quitting smoking lowers the risks for cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, and larynx.4,8Within 5 years of quitting, your chance of getting cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder is cut in half.4
Ten years after you quit smoking, your risk of dying from lung cancer drops by half.4If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen.4Cancer ScreeningScreening for Cervical and Colorectal Cancers
Research shows that screening for cervical and colorectal cancers, as recommended, helps prevent these diseases.  Screening for cervical and colorectal cancers helps find these diseases at an early, and often highly treatable, stage. CDC offers free or low-cost cervical cancer screening nationwide.2
Health care reform through the Affordable Care Act increases access to cervical and colorectal cancer screening through expanded insurance coverage and eliminating cost-sharing. In addition, CDC’s *Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign* informs people aged 50 years and older about the importance of having regular colorectal cancer screening tests.9
Screening for Lung Cancer
People who have smoked for many years may consider screening for lung cancer a type of scan called low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Talk to your doctor about lung cancer screening and the possible benefits and risks. Lung cancer screening is not a substitute for quitting smoking.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends yearly screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography for adults who are:
50 to 80 years of age and
have a 20 pack-year smoking history (meaning they have smoked at least one pack of cigarettes per day for at least 20 years) and
currently smoke, or have quit within the past 15 yearsThe Task Force recommends that screening  stop once a person has not smoked for 15 years or if they develop a health problem that makes them unable or unwilling to have surgery if lung cancer is found.10Top of PageHow Is Cancer Treated?The treatment for cancer depends on the type of cancer and the stage of the disease (how severe the cancer is and whether it has spread). Doctors may also consider the patient’s age and general health. Often, the goal of treatment is to cure the cancer. In other cases, the goal is to control the disease or to reduce symptoms for as long as possible. The treatment plan for a person may change over time.7
Most treatment plans include surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Other plans involve biological therapy (a treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer).3
Some cancers respond best to a single type of treatment. Other cancers may respond best to a combination of treatments.3
For patients who get very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, a stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant, may be recommended by their doctor. This is because high-dose therapies destroy both cancer cells and normal blood cells.
Quitting smoking improves the outlook (the prognosis) for people with cancer. People who continue to smoke after diagnosis raise their risk for future cancers and death. They are more likely to die from cancer than nonsmokers and are more likely to develop a second (new) tobacco-related cancer.5,13Top of PageColorectal Cancer and OstomiesAn ostomy (or stoma) is a surgical opening made to the body that allows waste to be eliminated from the body.12 Ostomies are used in treatment or management of cancer or other diseases.13 Ostomies are needed when the body’s normal opening is closed or altered as part of cancer treatment. An ostomy pouch is located around the opening to collect waste for removal. Ostomies are usually done during the first stages of surgical treatment to remove cancer.12 For colorectal cancer patients, a colostomy (surgical openings from the bowel or colon to the abdomen) can be a lifesaving surgery.12,13 An ostomy can be temporary or permanent.12,13 Temporary ostomies are used while the affected area of the body heals. Permanent ostomies are used when cancer has resulted in the removal of the entire colon or the end of it.12,13
Additional Resources
The United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. website focuses on the positive quality of life people can attain following ostomy surgery and provides information on a variety of topics, including:
Descriptions of ostomy terms
Frequently asked questions
Information about ostomy equipment
Tips for living with an ostomy
Resources, including:
Ways to connect with others who have had ostomy surgery
Medical information
Information for specific individuals (e.g., children, women)
Information about food and nutritionSupport Groups
To see if there is a support group in your area, visit United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc.’s support group website.Top of PageReferencesNational Cancer Institute. What Is Cancer? Defining Cancer [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cancer Prevention [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
National Institute on Aging. Cancer Facts for People Over 50 [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A Report of the Surgeon General. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer. Smokeless Tobacco and Some Tobacco-Specific N-Nitrosamines [PDF – 3.19MB]  [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Poster: The Benefits of Quitting [accessed 2015 Oct 19].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. *Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign* [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Final Recommendation Statement, Lung Cancer: Screening. March 2021 [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
American Cancer Society. Colostomy: A Guide [accessed 2021 Mar 31].
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Ostomy Surgery of the Bowel  [last updated 2014 Aug 13; accessed 2021 Mar 31].
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  April 2, 2021						Source: 	Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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