It's been a while since I have posted and would like to make a difference. My story is one that if I can make a difference with 1 person, it's worth it, so here it is....
A few years ago, I began smoking again after quitting for 25 years (pretty stupid, right!). Only not just regular ciggarettes, but clove ciggarettes (very, very strong) and I was working a very stressful job where abuse was on the cusp. You see I was a caregiver to an elderly woman, but my boss made me promise not to call the authorities on her daughter (very, very stressful). And to top that all off, I was working around 70 hours a week, so I started smoking more. Some days, I smoked 3 packs a day (these packs only contained 12 cigs).
In May of 2014, I was diagnosed with a clogged tear duct--I had no insurance at the time and it wasn't bothering me, so I let it go. A few months later, a bump appeared (small), went to another doctor. Same thing. Let it go--No insurance. Both times, I was misdiagnosed. In August of 2014 I went to the Eye Clinic in Santa Rosa (the best), that bump had tripled in size. Turns out, they couldn't even help me, but UCSF happened to be in the office that day, and Dr. Robert Kersten did my surgery 1 week later. It was CANCER, EYE CANCER. I had to go throught radiation for 7 weeks and I am still healing, but doing great.
I am 220 days clean from ciggarettes and I am so glad I quit. There isn't a day that goes by that I pray to God for saving my life. I really do feel that the Clove Ciggarettes had a lot to do with my cancer. It's not worth it. And I want to thank all of you for being there for me for my quit. Thanks everyone......
