January 27, 2009
Dana-Farber classes help smokers quit
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is offering inexpensive weekly classes with flexible schedules to help smokers fulfill their New Year's resolutions to quit smoking. The eight-week program uses motivational skills, not scare tactics, and instructors understand that successful methods for quitting vary depending on the individual person.
Each class lasts one hour and can be scheduled for midday, evening, or occasionally by group arrangement on Sunday afternoon. While most classes will be held at Dana-Farber in Boston, the class can meet at a worksite where a group of smokers is interested. The program is open to the general public and Dana-Farber employees.
"The program is rich in ways to understand your smoking habit, and in techniques to break the addiction," said Bob Kerrigan, a smoker for 34 years who quit with the assistance of Dana-Farber's classes. "Having seen life as a smoker for so long, and being so keenly aware of how wonderful my life is now without cigarettes, I'm grateful to the people who've developed this program and conduct it."
The program costs $10 per session and provides discounts on quitting aids, such as Nicotine packets. Participants receive their own workbook, which serves as a guide in the paced program. By the end of the program, each person taking part will have greater personal awareness and survival strategies, both of which are essential to maintaining a tobacco-free lifestyle.
"We give you the tools," said Susan DeCristofaro, R.N., M.S., one of two nurses who coordinates and teaches the program. "If you've ever considered quitting, call our number."
Cancer experts claim that tobacco is a cause of up to one-third of all cancers.
The mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is to provide expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases. As an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute, the Institute also provides training for new generations of physicians and scientists, designs programs that promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations, and disseminates innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries to its target community across the United States and throughout the world.
Media contact
Chris Moyer
(617) 582-8702
