0a3905d5_e_Smoker_s_Memorial___Page_Two__Our_Memorial_Remembrance
[#] 18 [Date] 04/02/06 [Our Memorial Remembrance] 
My father was one of the heaviest smokers I have ever seen - he smoked 5 to 6 packs per day for over 30 years. However, he did quit smoking in 1978 or so, but in 1992 was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. I was with him when the oncologist said he had only seen one case of this type of lung cancer in a non-smoker - a woman who lived with a heavy smoker. So, my father had quit for 14 years and still was diagnosed with lung cancer - I am still proud of him that he quit, however, in his case the damage was too severe. He lived for 13 months after the diagnosis, dying in October, 1993. Jack Waldhelm