A man who has been stricken by cancer and who has lost half his tongue because of it, has revealed he is still a smoker.
James Upfield lost half his tongue
James Upfield, a chain smoker who lost half his tongue after developing stage four mouth and throat cancer has revealed that he still smokes five cigarettes a day.
According to
Daily Mail UK, James Upfield, 46, who has been smoking since he was 13 and used to puff as many as 20 a day, was diagnosed with the disease in 2013.
During treatment, the former soldier, from Nottingham, died twice - once on the operating table and once after his 'lungs exploded'.
He also developed motor neurone disease - a rare condition that progressively damages part of the nervous system - following radiotherapy.
During treatment, the former soldier died twice - once on the operating table and once after his 'lungs exploded'
Now he has to liquidise all of his food as he is unable to produce any saliva and lost all of his natural teeth to radiation.
Despite having tried everything from nicotine patches to going cold turkey, he has never managed to completely stop smoking.
Mr Upfield, whose face has been misshapen by surgery to cut out part of his tumour, claims to still be addicted to the potentially deadly habit.
Having admitted that people think he is foolish for his continued smoking, he said: 'I wish I'd never started. I want to encourage people not to start.
'Looking back, if I’d known this would happen to me, I wouldn't have. I'm not proud I'm still a smoker.'
Advice from Cancer Research says that doctors should encourage patients to give up smoking before starting treatment.
It continues to say that smokers should also give up after treatment to reduce the risk of cancer coming back.
Both tobacco and alcohol are known carcinogens – meaning they contain chemicals that can damage the DNA cells and lead to cancer.
And the NHS cites them as the two leading causes of mouth cancer in the UK, according to its website.