“The association of smoking with the occurrence of bladder cancer has been convincingly demonstrated. Physicians may inform patients with bladder cancer of this finding but often without enough emphasis that smoking cessation is the most valuable modifiable factor for tumor recurrence. Using the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, Winters from Seattle, Washington report no difference in the rate of smoking cessation by smokers diagnosed with bladder cancer compared to matched controls without cancer. Obviously, the patient is the one who most determine how successful smoking cessation may be but the urologist can be a major influence in helping prompt a patient toward appropriate measures to overcome
barriers that prevent success.”