Smokers who have been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer can double their survival rate by kicking the habit. A study was conducted which showed that only 29 to 33 percent of early lung cancer patients who continued to smoke lived longer than five years while 63 to 70 percent of subjects who quit smoking survived five years after being diagnosed.

The survival apparently comes from the reduced chances of tumor recurrence and not from improved heart and lung conditions.

All the patients included in the study were early lung cancer patients and had been treated with either surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Therefore, the study does not address the survival chances of a patient with advanced lung cancer if they cease smoking.

Since all the studies in this analysis were observational, it is not clear if quitting smoking is the reason for the decline in deaths. However, the findings show that smoking cessation counseling should be routinely offered to newly diagnosed lung cancer patients.

According to Amanda Parsons, a Ph.D. candidate at the U.K. Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham College of Medicine and Dentistry, smoking cessation support is not routinely offered but may be part of a support program in some hospitals.

Smokers Who Stop Smoking Double Chances of Cancer Survival: Study