Make 2014 Your Year to Quit

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center offers free classes to help kick tobacco habit

(Baton Rouge, La.) Tobacco use can lead to serious health problems, including lung, head and neck, bladder, kidney and cervical cancers. Because of these risks, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center offers Geaux Free, a free tobacco cessation counseling service to help people kick the habit. “Health benefits begin almost immediately when people quit using tobacco, including your heart rate returning to normal, and your risk of a heart attack decreasing,” said Dr. Brad Vincent, interventional pulmonologist and chairman of the Canter Center’s Lung MDC Team. “Over time, your lung function improves significantly and your risk for developing cancer is decreased.” Dr. Vincent encourages tobacco users to enroll in a program like Geaux Free to help make a lasting change. The Cancer Center’s Geaux Free program helps individuals prepare for quitting, manage withdrawal symptoms, identify triggers that create urges, and learn new behavior and skills to help remain tobacco-free. Weekly one-hour classes begin Wednesday, January 8. Day, evening and weekend options are available and taught by a certified tobacco cessation counselor. For more information on our Geaux Free program, please call (225) 215-1274. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is the most comprehensive cancer center in Louisiana offering patients the convenience of receiving high-quality, advanced care close to home. The Cancer Center is part of the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), a group of competitively selected cancer centers that is developing a national model for community cancer care.