Sunday Stroke Survival: Life as a Nonsmoker...Again!

Well, I'm officially a nonsmoker again. This is as of December 30th. As I said a couple of blogs ago if I want to make life changes, I just do it. Notice I waited until now to tell y'all.

Such is the case this time. After arguing with my health insurance provider, I decided to quit. Their new policy would increase my premium $75 each month starting January 1. I used the cancer free argument and how they should be thanking me, but they still want to charge me any how. Now let them pay the consequences of their actions. And unfortunately, so will I. So I begrudgingly quit. The additional smoking penalty put the policy way out of budget.

"So look at the cost savings," said a friend said. All I can see were the dollar signs that fighting a cancer cost me and multiplied by four. Not to mention the wear and tear on my body, and prescriptions for life for the removal of organs. I'm talking about multiple thousands of dollars, they haven't had to pay out over the past thirteen years and what they've had to pay in monthly/yearly hormone replacement and diagnostic test to see if the cancer has returned over the past forty years! Only recently, Medicare offsets the copays for these which is a huge relief to my wallet. Of course, it could be worse. I could have let the cancers kill me. Nah, I'm too much a fighter to do that.

So, I put down the cigarettes and roll the dice hoping I don't crap out. I bought a bag of sugar-free suckers to combat my mouth-lip fixation. I don't want to switch smoking for diabetes as a risk factor. That wouldn't be smart, would it?

Nothing is impossible.