{"meta":{"status":200,"messages":[],"pagination":{"max":1,"offset":0,"count":1,"total":1,"pageNum":1,"totalPages":1,"sort":null,"currentUrl":"https://api.digitalmedia.hhs.gov/api/v2/resources/media.json?offset=0&max=1&ignoreHiddenMedia=1&format=json&id=8424&newUrlBase=http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/stories","nextUrl":null,"previousUrl":null}},"results":[{"content":"
\nShane began smoking at age 18, something every member of his family already did. He was only 34 when the damage to his body from smoking became evident. He noticed he was having difficulty swallowing; throat cancer turned out to be the cause. During the surgeries that followed, doctors removed his larynx, part of his esophagus, and collarbone and then reshaped and stretched his stomach to serve as an esophagus. He also had a 1-inch stoma (opening) in his neck so he could breathe.
\n\u201cI tried several times to quit smoking and thought it was impossible,\u201d said Shane with the aid of an electrolarynx, a device he pressed against his neck so he could talk. \u201cBut after the surgery, I\u2019ve had no desire to smoke.\u201d
\nHaving a stoma caused his day-to-day routine to change dramatically. He had to give up his work as a machinist, and even simple things, like taking a shower, were dangerous. At age 44, he faced a new challenge. His doctors had found cancer in his chest.
\nShane hoped that by participating in the Tips From Former Smokers\u00ae campaign, he could show others that while smoking may not kill you right away, a person would be foolish to think that smoking won\u2019t affect him or her eventually.
\n\u201cYou know how dangerous smoking is,\u201d Shane said. \u201cAge makes no difference. It will catch up to you.\u201d Shane died on August 4, 2016 from smoking-related cancer.
\n\n
Shane, 44, Wisconsin; diagnosed with throat cancer at age 34. Shane passed away from complications of cancer at the age of 49.
\n