Tasmanian Premier has Lung Cancer and Calls Himself an Idiot

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Article Date: 23 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Tasmian Premier, Jim Bacon has lung cancer. He has smoked for the last 35 years and now publicly admits that he was a fool.

He described himself as an idiot for not listening to his friends, family and doctors. They all told him to give up smoking.

He says that now he knows that if he had changed his lifestyle at an earlier age he might not have lung cancer now.

His deputy, Paul Lennon has quit, he says. As soon as he learnt of Mr Bacon's lung cancer he gave up there and then.

Mr Bacon said 'I accept full responsibility for the condition that I now have. I have been a smoker for 35 years and I reckon for all of that time my doctors and lots of my friends have tried to advise me to give up smoking. I have been an idiot. I have not listened - I have kept smoking. I now accept that I am in large part paying the price for that stupidity.

'Now I'm not going to pretend that even now I'm going to give up smoking. Of course I'll try. But I do want to say particularly to young Tasmanians, if they're thinking about taking up smoking - don't. It is a stupid, stupid habit. Let's get another positive out if this with me. I want people to give up smoking. Listen to what the Cancer Council says about it.

'Please, don't be a fool like me. Don't keep smoking - try and give it up. And if you are young and you haven't started - don't start. One of the good things in talking with my two sons in the last few days has been that my negative example has meant that neither of them smoke at all and would not consider it. That has made me very happy.'

Lung cancer is one of the most aggressive cancer there are. Survival rates, in comparison to other cancers, is quite low.

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