THE STAY WELL BLOG

If I said I had a vaccine, one or two shots, that would prevent certain cancers, what would you say? You’d certainly be interested. You’d ask, “What are the side effects?” I’d tell you they could include pain at the injection site and a fever, possibly some swelling where the shot was given. Then you might ask, “How long has the vaccine been around?” In this case, it’s about 20 years, which is long enough for significant other side effects to show up, if there were any. Then

I spend a lot of time thinking about smoking. That’s because nearly 500,000 people die each year from issues related to tobacco use — lung cancer, COPD, heart attacks. Tobacco attacks nearly every organ of your body. On average, people who smoke die 10 years sooner than nonsmokers. Too many people think about their Uncle Jack who smoked two packs a day and drank half a bottle of whiskey every night. Well, that’s the extreme, but there are so many more smokers out there who su