Inês Chaim, 71, was diagnosed with lung cancer after smoking for decades. She went viral on TikTok after sharing a cigarette alert.
“Who told you to smoke? Now it’s chemo for treatment. Fuck!” Sings 71-year-old retired Inês Chaim during a lung cancer chemotherapy session.
The video was shared by her on TikTok and went viral on the platform, on which she accumulates over 9.4 million views and 1.2 million likes.
The way Inês teases the disease has attracted the attention of many people. “It’s my way, I don’t take things too seriously,” the retiree told BBC News Brasil.
The publication, Inês evaluates, is a way to raise awareness of the harmful effects of smoking. She has been a smoker for over four decades. “Without a doubt, the disease was caused by the cigarette,” says the retiree.
Smoking or passive tobacco exposure are identified as important risk factors for the development of lung cancer. According to data from the National Cancer Institute (Inca), the disease is associated with the consumption of tobacco products in 85% of cases.
At the end of the 20th century, according to Inca, lung cancer became a leading cause of preventable deaths. In 2020, the most recent data, there were 28,620 deaths due to the disease in the country.
The decades of smoking
Inês’s story is an example of the consequences of smoking, emphasizes oncologist Fernando Medina da Cunha, who is responsible for accompanying the retired woman to the Campinas Cancer Center (COC).
“Tobacco contains thousands of carcinogens, in addition to nicotine, which is an addictive drug. This can affect not only the lungs, but also the esophagus, mouth, pancreas and bladder. ability to die and begin the multiplication process in a geometric progression, forming the tumor, which we call cancer due to its ability to infiltrate nearby tissues “, specifies the doctor.
Inês says she started using cigarettes at the age of 13. “At 14 I also became addicted to marijuana and at 20 I started using amphetamine. At 30 I gave up everything but cigarettes,” she says.
Within her own family, Inês had an example of the consequences of smoking after her father, who had been a smoker for decades, died of lung cancer.
“But we think nothing will ever happen to us,” says the pensioner.
When he was 58, he began to notice worsening health problems.
“I smoked a lot, almost two packs of cigarettes a day. I could no longer walk well because I was short of breath,” he says. She has been diagnosed with emphysema, a disease that damages lung structures and causes breathing difficulties.
Faced with the problem, he decided it was time to quit smoking.
“I was 58 when I quit for good. It wasn’t easy, I had to take medicine to calm down because I was very nervous without smoking,” she recalls.
In 2020, after also encountering difficulties in walking, Inês sought a pulmonologist. She has undergone several types of tests and has been diagnosed with a type of lung cancer known as small cell neuroendocrine, a cancer that spreads rapidly.
“It is strongly linked to smoking, grows much faster and affects other regions, such as bones, liver, mouth, among others. It is extremely aggressive,” explains oncologist Fernando Medina.
The retiree had to undergo surgery to remove the tumor and underwent about 25 sessions of radiotherapy.
“I took the diagnosis and treatment in a good light. I didn’t cry and I didn’t despair,” says Inês.
She says she didn’t despair even when she discovered, about a year after the first treatment ended, that the disease had reached other regions (a process known as metastasis).
Inês underwent two more surgeries to remove the tumors that appeared after the first treatment ended and started chemotherapy. The retiree is currently being treated.
The elderly woman says she knows the severity of the disease but prefers to handle the situation in the best possible way.
From the first diagnosis, he tried to put his life in order. “I left a payroll, explaining everything my husband and I had to pay. I also left all my passwords for my daughters.”
“Veins of smoke”
One of Inês’s goals, in the midst of treatment, was for her illness to become a warning to other people. So she asked her youngest daughter to record a video during a chemotherapy session. The record was shared by the retiree on TikTok and soon reverberated on the network.
In the publication, many people wished for an improvement, others congratulated her on the courage to share the alert and also praised the way she copes with the disease.
“You have to make fun of the situation, because if you take it seriously, I go crazy”, justifies Inês, who calls herself the “vein of smoke” for having said that in the past “she practically walked on smoke”.
After the surprise with the repercussion of the video, Inês went on to share other publications about her history with the disease and smoking on TikTok.
The accompanying physician commends the patient’s initiative to reveal the causes of lung cancer and warn about smoking. “I thought it was a fantastic fit,” sums up Medina.
As he continues with the treatment, he continues to share details on his TikTok profile. In her most recent video, released on Saturday (08/13), she showed the moment she shaved her hair due to chemotherapy.
As for the future, avoid making plans. “I want to live one day at a time and not expect anything. It’s the best thing I do: live in the present. I’ve always been like this.”
“You don’t need fear, because everyone will die. Will I cry from cancer now? I’m not going!”, He declares.
– This text has been published originally in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-62486627
Source: Terra
Benjamin Smith is a fashion journalist and author at Gossipify, known for his coverage of the latest fashion trends and industry insights. He writes about clothing, shoes, accessories, and runway shows, providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives. He’s respected for his ability to spot emerging designers and trends, and for providing practical fashion advice to readers.
