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 Shelby and Wayne S. of Winston Salem, North Carolina started smoking at an early age – Wayne at age 14 and Shelby at age 18. Wayne can remember distinctly being called a “chicken” for not first accepting a cigarette from another peer and it only took one cigarette for him to get addicted. He would use his lunch money and buy cigarettes at $0.25 a pack. Both Shelby and Wayne came from a family of smokers when the health effects were not widely discussed. Instead, smoking was seen as glamorous for the woman and macho for the men.
After 45 years, Wayne was up to smoking 3 packs a day and Shelby after 40 years was smoking 1 pack and a half a day. On January 31, 2003, the years of smoking caught up with Shelby when was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer; doctors removed 30 percent of her lungs.
The couple struggled with their addiction to tobacco. They turned to the “patch” to help control their tobacco cravings. When they still craved tobacco after a few days, Wayne called the manufacturer, who referred them to the American Lung Association Lung Helpline. They were matched with a Lung Helpline nurse, Priscilla, who along with their family and church gave them the support they needed. Wayne, Shelby and Priscilla spoke daily during the first two years, sharing everything from their battle of tobacco addiction to Shelby’s survival of lung cancer.
Some believe it was luck or a fluke that the doctors were able to detect Shelby had lung cancer at such an early stage, but Shelby and Wayne know it was a miracle that she was diagnosed early and treated. Shelby also suffers from COPD or emphysema, but she is thankful every day to be cancer-free. And they still touch base with Priscilla monthly.
On February 1, 2008, Shelby and Wayne will have been tobacco-free for five years. They have lived the horrors of addiction and the harmful consequences of tobacco. They hope their story will encourage other smokers to quit and most importantly, for kids to never start smoking. | 
