Home > Get Support > Family Can Help

Get Support: Family Can Help

by Debi Driver

Neola, Iowa
United States

I used Zyban to help me get through the cravings for cigarettes. But my biggest help-factor was the love of my family, especially my 18-year old daughter! I had lost a sister-in-law to lung cancer 3 years ago, and am going to lose a very dear friend to the damned cancer very soon (in a matter of months)!!! I have been wanting to quit for quite some time, but I never thought that I would be able to accomplish this gigantic feat!! I made a bet with my daughter that if she could find a place to hide my cigarettes, and I couldn't find them, then I would have to quit smoking. Well, she has a boyfriend that is 6'1", and they hid them in a suspended ceiling!! Needless to say, I didn't find them. (I fact, she didn't reveal the hiding place until after I finally quit!) That didn't stop me completely, yet. I was still having a hard time with the cravings. Then a year ago this month, my dear friend that I work with was diagnosed with lung cancer. He is only 52 years old! I saw how this affcted all of us, and I remembered how my sister-in-law's death devastated all of us, so I decided then and there that with my doctor's help, and that of my family and God, I would beat the nasty habit! And I am very proud to say that on February 24th, it will be one year since I quit!! This was quite an accomplishment for someone that smoked for 30 years!! That doesn't mean that there aren't still times that I want to smoke a cigarette, but I won't let it get the best of me! I am a non-smoker for the rest of my life! God willing, I hope that I will be with my family for a long time yet! I hope that this letter isn't too long, and that it gives someone else the courage to quit. Because if I can, anyone can!!