A smoking cessation and pain management program for cancer survivors

Purpose Many cancer survivors continue to smoke. Further, most survivors also report high levels of persistent pain and smoke in response to pain. The investigators tested the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a smoking cessation program paired with a pain management program for cancer survivors. Methods The investigators conducted a two-arm, wait-list randomized controlled pilot study in which they delivered a combined smoking cessation and pain management intervention. Results The investigators randomized 30 survivors (14 intervention and 16 wait-list control). Seventy-one percent of the survivors who received the intervention rated it as extremely useful (5 out of 5) in helping them quit smoking. Further, 86% would recommend the program to other survivors. Although we could not conduct inferential statistics, 14% of those in the intervention arm, compared to 6% in the control condition had biochemically validated cessation at 2-months post-randomization. Survivors in the intervention also reported less pain, had improvements in depressive symptoms, and better physical function than those in the control arm. Conclusions Our pilot data suggest the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of this approach. The next step is to conduct a large randomized controlled trial to fully test the efficacy of the intervention. Implications for Cancer Survivors A combined smoking cessation and pain program might help improve both issues simultaneously.