After cancer diagnosis, Wyoming police officer warns of danger of smoking

INVOICING – We are all, at one time or another, guilty of feeling invincible. May the problems of others not make their way into our lives.

CS Dickey, a Wyoming police officer, thought a lifetime of work would save him from smoking that lasted more than 40 years.

"I was physically active most of the time," said Dickey. "I did Crossfit. I have exercised a lot. I was probably one of the most fit members of my department. I'm deluding myself into thinking that I'm doing everything I do to counteract the harmful smoking I do to make sure I'm safe. "

Dickey picked up cigarettes when he was 14 and he was still in high school. He said that at that time, they had been inundated with images of the Marlboro man, at a time when people had not fully understood the dangers of smoking .

Like many people who take a "bad habit," he said that he had started because everyone was doing it.

In June, Dickey said that all members of his family were getting sick. But when they improved and that he did not do it, they realized that something was wrong.

After trying different drugs for a few months, Dickey finally went to the emergency room. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma, lung cancer.

Dickey is currently following a treatment at the Billings Clinic and urging others to consider not only their own health, but also the lives of the people they love.

"One of the most difficult things for a person diagnosed with cancer is not necessarily what it all means to you or what it affects you, but rather how it affects the members of your family. your family, "said Dickey. "If you stick to something bad for yourself long enough, sooner or later, you'll get to the lottery of misery. I can not imagine that anyone else goes through something like this … not because of what it does to you, but rather to what it does to the people around you who love you.

In the United States, nearly 38 million people smoke cigarettes and, according to the American Cancer Society, about 480,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses.

November 15 is the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout" year. The goal is to serve as a catalyst for those who want to quit.

For more information on the event or to exit the tools, click here.