Did you know that if you have to have surgery and other treatments for breast cancer, you have to quit smoking? Me either. I should know about this… I’ve been a smoker for half of my life now and have had every doctor hound me about quitting. I’m not happy with the fact that I smoke – it’s a time waster, a wallet suck, and it can’t be doing my health any favors. But it’s a habit and now I have to kick it to the curb if I’m going to kick breast cancer.

When I was told this fun fact of having to drop my smoking status, I did a lot of research about smoking’s effects on the wound healing outcomes of breast surgery. Needless to say, I’m convinced this is something I must do – it will save my quality of life and hopefully keep me around this earth a little longer.

Quitting smoking prior to breast surgery is an important step in your health plan.

If you’re a smoker who is planning to have breast surgery, it’s important to quit smoking before the procedure. Smoking affects surgical healing and increases the risk of medical complications. Quitting your smoking status before breast surgery reduces complications and improves the outcome of treatment.

Quitting smoking prior to breast surgery is an important step in your health plan. Smoking is a major risk factor for breast cancer and can affect the immune system, which makes it harder to fight cancer. Smokers also have an increased chance of developing complications during and after surgery, including increased bleeding and wound infections. Quitting smoking prior to surgery can improve the outcome of treatment by reducing these risks.

Smoking affects surgical healing and increases the risk of medical complications.

There are many reasons why it’s important to quit smoking before breast surgery:

• Smoking reduces blood flow to the breast which can lead to tissue damage and delayed healing time.
• Smoking increases the risk of blood clots (thrombosis) in both arteries and veins–a serious complication because they can break off and travel through your bloodstream until they become lodged somewhere else in your body causing life-threatening injuries such as heart attacks or strokes.
• Smoking reduces oxygen levels in your blood which puts more stress on all organs including those used during surgery like lungs and kidneys.
• Quitting smoking prior to breast surgery reduces complications and improves the outcome of treatment.

If you are planning on having breast surgery in the near future, it is important to quit smoking as soon as possible. Quitting smoking prior to breast surgery reduces the risk of post-surgical complications and improves the outcome of treatment.

If you smoke and are having a mastectomy or lumpectomy, quitting before surgery is important.

This is especially true if you plan on any breast reconstruction, as that requires even more wound healing. Smoking is a risk factor for complications following breast cancer surgery. Smoking increases the risk of infection and decreases the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Quitting smoking improves the outcome of breast cancer treatment.

Conclusion

Quitting smoking before breast cancer surgery and especially breast reconstruction is an important step in ensuring a successful outcome. If you are concerned about your risk factors, I encourage you to discuss them with your surgeon. I also encourage you to check what your employer or agencies in your state will do for you in regard to smoking cessation programs. Many health insurance plans come automatically with a no-cost smoking cessation program. My employer offers Quit Genius, an app that has 1:1 coaching, nicotine replacement therapy supplies, and educational resources based on cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT.

Finally, I encourage you to NOT go this alone. You’ve got this. I’m putting my cigarette down too. We can be smoke-free survivors.