Treatment outcomes of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are all improved for patients who stop smoking and drinking alcoho - Charlotte Finchettl

Charlotte Finchett - Health Promotion Advisor

Charlotte Finchett - Health Promotion Advisor

As many people will know, October is Stoptober and there have been lots of adverts on the TV featuring the likes of Al Murray and Bill Bailey encouraging people to give up smoking.

We all know that smoking and drinking to excess are bad for our health. And if you have cancer it can even slow down or harm your recovery and limit your chances of a good long term recovery. That's why I find my role at The Christie as a Health Promotion Advisor so rewarding. I know I can make a real difference to people's lives.

Let me tell you about a 61 year old (let's call him Tom) who was due to start chemotherapy treatment at the beginning of 2015. When I first met Tom, he explained that he had been drinking 80 units of alcohol a week (the recommended weekly allowance for a man is three to four units per day if drinking on a regular basis). As I sat and listened to him, it became apparent that he was not really upset about his cancer diagnosis, but that his wife had left him through his ongoing alcohol problem.

We talked about his alcohol history, how much he drank and came up with a plan to reduce his alcohol intake. We contacted his GP to provide further help and support with reducing his alcohol consumption and his current home-life situation. The GP was very supportive and arranged an urgent appointment with Tom. I am happy to finish Tom's story by saying his wife is back living with him and she is supporting him through his cancer treatment.

Being able to help Tom and hundreds of others like him is what makes my job at The Christie so fulfilling.

I started working at The Christie in the medical records team, the day after I completed my last school exams back in June 1988. I have been fortunate to undertake various roles since then, including working in radiotherapy, and now as a Health Promotion Advisor. I feel honoured to work at such a valued organisation with such caring and approachable staff and am very lucky to be supported by a wide variety of health professionals.

The experiences I have gained in these previous roles have allowed me to gain an in-depth understanding how we treat patients at The Christie, the process they go through and what they experience when undergoing treatment for cancer. This knowledge and experience enables me to be an effective Health Promotion Advisor, supporting patients to live a healthier life, through their cancer treatment and beyond.

Treatment outcomes of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are all improved for patients who stop smoking and drinking alcohol. For example, smoking and alcohol can increase the impact of side effects during treatment, which in turn impacts on how well the patient can tolerate their treatment.

Patients who smoke and undergo surgery can take longer to recover due to the lower levels of oxygen within the blood. And, for patients with head and neck cancer, giving up smoking has a much greater impact on survival.

As a health promotion advisor I work with and support patients to make lifestyle changes with the aim of improving their treatment and recovery. I discuss smoking cessation and alcohol awareness with patients, carers and their families, and provide the relevant interventions they need to make changes. These can range from providing hypnotherapy to offering nicotine patches.

Some patients may not want to stop smoking, but whilst they are an inpatient they may not be able to leave the ward, so nicotine replacement is an option. Patients are encouraged to make their own choice and are given information about nicotine replacement.

Supporting patients emotionally and holistically is the key to any kind of therapy. Commonly patients have several concerns alongside their cancer diagnosis. For example, they may have financial concerns or have little social support. And it is important to remember that people smoke and drink for many reasons, such as stress. What I find is that they have associated the smoking habit with relaxation, as they are usually sitting down, relaxing, and taking time out from their day. I need to understand these reasons and understand how hard it is to make lifestyle changes so that I can identify all the support measures that are needed to help our patients through this process and ensure that everything possible is in place for them.

As a former smoker myself, I totally understand how difficult it is to change your behaviour and give up.

I'm so fortunate to part of The Christie's award winning complementary therapy team, led by the visionary Peter Mackereth. I feel supported by my manager Paula Maycock to go the extra mile to help our patients and am privileged to work closely with several departments, dedicated staff such as Professor Nick Slevin and Dr Andrew Sykes and the wider multi-disciplinary teams in place throughout The Christie. There are too many individuals to name, however staff at The Christie always go above and beyond the call of duty to put our patients and their families and carers first.

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see patients smoke free and enjoying other ways of spending their money.

During the summer, I was speaking to a carer (let's call him Greg) who wanted to support his wife's smoking cessation by also stopping smoking himself. Greg explained that he used to ride his motorbike, but was unable to use it at the moment due to it being broken. He decided to save the money he would have spent on smoking to fix his motorbike - whilst supporting his wife. I saw him a few weeks ago and he and his wife are now smoke free and he got his bike fixed with the money that he saved.

Being able to help people like Tom and Greg are what drives me in my job. The difference it makes to people's lives is phenomenal.

Having cancer is a very difficult time for patients and their families or carers, but I know that if we support our patients to reduce their intake of alcohol and smoking it will improve the outcome of their treatment.

The patients are very receptive to talking with me and very grateful of the support that we provide. Every day is a different day but I enjoy it more and more. It is never too late make a lifestyle change. We are changing lives and supporting patients.