A large number of lung cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed, according to a new study.
Published in the journal, Cancer, the research also provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking.The researchers investigated smoking rates at the time of diagnosis and five month after diagnosis for over 5,000 people with lung and colorectal cancer.
The results showed that at the time of diagnosis 39% of lung cancer patients and 14% of colorectal cancer patients were smoking. Five months after diagnosis, 14% of lung cancer patients and 9% of colorectal cancer patients were still smoking.
The finding demonstrated that a substantial amount of cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. The results also suggest that colorectal cancer patients are less likely to quit smoking compared to lung cancer patients, following diagnosis.