Posted on 07/30/2011 7:31:27 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
Actor Michael Douglas was photographed smoking on a yacht last week - less than a year after "beating" stage IV throat cancer.
The Oscar winner appears on the new cover of Star Magazine and in photos inside puffing on what appears to be a hand-rolled cigarette July 21.
He looks tanned and relaxed in the exclusive Star photos, leaning on the yacht's railing while traveling with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones along the Italian Riviera.
"Are you calling about the photos, because we have no comment," a rep for Douglas' spokesman Allen Burry told the Daily News.
The Hollywood icon, 66, was diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer last August and lost 32 pounds undergoing intensive chemotherapy and radiation.
"I feel good. I feel relieved," the actor told NBC "Today" host Matt Lauer in an interview in January, revealing that his treatment was a success.
"The tumor is gone," he told Lauer. "The odds are with the tumor gone and what I know about this particular type of cancer, that I've got it beat."
"It's rare to return to smoking after something like this, but it's an addiction akin to heroin. It's a physical addiction, not just psychological, and very difficult to break," said Dr. Eric Genden, a Mt. Sinai surgeon.
"It's a bad idea. In patients with a history of carcinoma of the throat, smoking represents an exceptionally high risk to developing recurrence and even dying from the disease."
It's possible Douglas was smoking medical marijuana or another substance other than tobacco, but medical marijuana typically is used to treat loss of appetite and nausea while treatment is ongoing.
Most patients quit any type of smoking because it tends to cause a burning sensation on throat tissue damaged by radiation, Genden said.
It's a really bad idea," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Smokers hate the very idea that cigarette smoke smells bad to non smokers. They also have no idea how far away from them the bad smell drifts.
When a smoker says “mind if I smoke?” I sometimes ask them “mind if I fart?”. If it is the first time they have heard that old joke they are taken back but if they have heard it before they usually say “sure go ahead”. LOL!
ping
Why doesn’t the media and everyone else just mind their own damn business?
If the guy wants to die smoking, so be it.
(Besides, I’ve always had a thing for Catherine Zeta-Jones. This could be my chance).
The 3 years since I quit equal a bit over 31,000 cigarettes that I haven’t inhaled.
Taking a deep breath of satisfaction.
I had tried to quit a couple of times but fell off the wagon and naturally was pimped by my buddies for not having staying power.
When I quit for good, I didn’t tell anyone until about three months smoke free. Someone noticed I wasn’t smoking any more and instead of badgering, they were supportive.
I quit cold turkey in 1992 from a two pack per day habit. I'd already had a severe MI and bypass surgery but kept smoking.
I finally quit in 1992, but came down with throat cancer in 1997. My doctor and oncologist both said smoking was nonetheless the cause. Surgery and radiation seems to have actually cured the throat cancer.
Then in 2005 I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The urologist said smoking was the cause. 13 years after I quit smoking, it still plagued me. Fortunately I haven't had a recurrence of that.
I also have frequent nightmares that I am smoking full bore again. I have absolutely no desire to smoke. But the nightmares wake me up and I just feel grateful I actually quit for good.
A hand rolled cigarette in the hands of a rich man screams out MJ to me.
“Man Caught Driving After Nearly Fatal Auto Accident One Year Ago!”
I did not have anything to quit and never craved it while I was recovering from the addiction..I was in the hospital but never told my doctor I needed anything..Some peoples will is stronger than others.I guess...
For me that urgent need for a cig would last well into week two, not just 3 or 4 days.
When my husband was seen in Triage at a Veterans Hospital, the majority of the patients were there with COPD exacerbations.
I would often see the triage nurses taking smoke breaks. I never could figure that out.
But the topper was to see a patient smoking through the hole in his throat.
I am a former 2 pack a day smoker but learned that God provides a way for us to resist any temptation. It has been 15 years since I have smoked.
The “patch” I used was prayer for the Holy Spirit to help me, and He did.
I’d guess he’s given up fighting. Otherwise, why not inhale his “medical” marijuana with a vaporizer?
A doctor told me one time that if we only smoked one cigarette after meals (like our great grandparents did) we could smoke for 100 years without any problems.
“He is not harming anyone but himself by smoking.”
What about leaving a widow and fatherless children?
He is harming them, and it becomes THEIR problem, though I agree it’s not yours and mine.
Reference bump ... ;-)
Did she offer you a cigarette?
sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry
I always found it a chore to smoke. It doesn’t feel good or taste good, you gotta work on it. My grandparents both smoked themselves to death so I assume I have whatever gene that people have in order to keep doing it.
It was so much easier to stop it than to keep doing it, not to mention the expenses involved.
I just can’t think of any reason that people smoke cigs for more than a few years. Maybe I didn’t get the gene to be addicted to it somehow. I sure have anxiety issues too, so I just don’t get it.
once a niwit always a nitwit.
See posts #11 and #16. Nuff said....
Awww, look. The kids, Ma and Grandpa!
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