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I'm on chemo now
Posted: Mar 30, 2017
My breast cancer is stage IV, incurable, so my onc put me on hormone therapy with Ibrance to try to reduce the tumor load and buy some time.
I went to the doctor in Feb because I had a severe reaction to my new downstairs neighbor's cigarette smoke coming into my bathroom. A few scans later and I find out I have cancer with mets to the lymph nodes, lungs and skin. Prognosis is 2 to 3 years if I have no treatment. This blows up my world. So I start the therapy a week ago - Each Ibrance pill costs $520. I already have side effects and the neighbor is smoking even more. So I write a nice letter and include a copy of my CT scan of the lungs where the rad talks about the pneumonia in my left lung and the tumors throughput both lungs. I ask that he *please* smoke outside so I can use my (single) bathroom.
I got my answer. He is home from work and already smoking in the bathroom. You can't make an *hole care about anything else and I know karma is gonna be a *itch. My lease is up in December. I may have to break the lease or buy a gas mask type respirator just to go sit on the toilet. I don't need this on top of trying to deal with the C issue. I could scream!!!!
;
Sorry to hear - that
[ In Reply To ..]I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I can only suggest an air cleaner to remove the smoke from your living place. What a butt pain he is. I will remember you as I said. God Bless.
Chemo is enough to deal with! You don't need this irritation... - Ihc
[ In Reply To ..]Maybe speak to your landlord about this very thoughtless, unkind neighbor, and maybe it will help. I had a downstairs neighbor smoking in her bathroom, and the cigarette smoke would somehow work its way into my unit. Having extremely bad allergies, it really affected me. I did complain to the manager, and when he spoke to her, he could see right into her bathroom and was doubly upset because her cigarette smoking had turned the ceiling and walls from white to this nasty yellow-brown color.
I'm so sorry to read about the health issue - Val
[ In Reply To ..]If you are in an apartment, maybe you can get into another one -- or complain to management? If the ventilation is so poor that smokers are creating health problems in other apartments, maybe your local TV news would be interested in the story? Embarrassment sometimes works.
We care and can help - support you by listening
[ In Reply To ..]Hey...look at this:
"If you smoke or live next to someone who does, you can easily eliminate the smell of cigarette smoke with a few drops of essential oils. Put four drops of rosemary, tea tree and eucalyptus essential oils in a spray bottle and spray near your patio or in your car to neutralize odors."
I just bought a diffuser this week and am experimenting with it. Apparently essential oils have multiple uses and may help. The diffuser I bought was about $20, and the oils vary in price depending on where you buy them (~$2.00 to $6.00). It would be nice if you could get some relief from essential oils...lots of people swear by them. The suggestion above doesn't even require a diffuser, just a spray bottle, but you may find a diffuser more effective, keeping it running non-stop.
I used to be a smoker and defended it with the most bizarre logic. Stopped 22 years ago and can't bear to be near it at ALL. Nowadays it's like trying to breathe underwater.
I can imagine your neighbor saying, "Look...I PAY for this space, and I'll do whatever I please. It's not MY fault that the smoke drifts into YOUR space..."
Sorry for your challenges. You have my prayers. I hope you have some support. If no family or friends are nearby, please use us at MTstars. We care.
I get the smoker's attitude unfortunately - It is his space he pays for
[ In Reply To ..]I can imagine your neighbor saying, "Look...I PAY for this space, and I'll do whatever I please. It's not MY fault that the smoke drifts into YOUR space..."
This may be something the landlord should fix or if it is an apartment complex designate a nonsmoking area and move you there.
Smoking indoors is a fire risk, too. Surprised - the landlord allows in-unit smoking.
[ In Reply To ..]Not to mention the potential legal risks he faces from people made ill by that smoke.
My building is a non-smoking building. One tenant used to get drunk and then smoke indoors. He was able to hide it for a while, but when the landlords discovered he was smoking in his unit, they evicted him.
A lot of apartments are designating non-smoking units - but legally they cannot ban it
[ In Reply To ..]Not in my state. What you do in your private residence is your business unless it is illegal or designated pet-free or smoke-free unit, etc.
Smoking in apartments - Yes it is a risk
[ In Reply To ..]Landlords can definitely state in the lease, "no smoking, no pets." If you rent, it is not your private residence, it belongs to the landlord. I live in a small complex that has a no-smoking policy. A tenant violated that and had been smoking cigars, started his deck on fire and gutted the apartment. They are adjoined triplex townhouses. The fire didn't spread to neighboring units but the apartments were uninhabitable for months due to smoke damage. Think about that if you think it's okay to smoke without permission. Also, some people are sensitive to cigarette smoke and you can research the effects of secondhand smoke, then there are also children living in rentals. If you have a no-smoking clause in your lease, you most certainly can be banned, not to mention being responsible for damages you cause if you start a fire because your insurance won't pay.
If you have a no-smoking clause you can lose your - apartment. If not, you pay the rent
[ In Reply To ..]and smoke. If smoke is getting into other apartments, that is the landlord's problem not the renter's problem.
I am not a smoker and not a pet-lover so I would definitely search out places to live that were smoke-free and pet-free. That is what the woman undergoing chemotherapy should do.
Always has to be someone telling someone what they should do. - do you people EVER think that maybe SM
[ In Reply To ..]the OP has no other option??? maybe they moved in there first, then the smoker moved in, so I'd say the op has more rights than the smoker on that basis.
we dont know the whole story here, but it really chaps me when people start telling others what they ought to do, like it's so easy to just pack up and move somewhere else. And if she did, what if the same type of situation happens again??
Prayers for you, your friends and family. - Move! Now!
[ In Reply To ..]You don't need this but you can control it by getting doctor's order to move from the cigarette smoke and present this to landlord. Maybe they can find a place for you without a smoker.
And for the love of heaven don't worry about karma to pay back your neighbor and wishing bad things on him. Obviously he has an addiction. Begs the question why he smokes in the bathroom, but I would not waste my energy on that and do something positive which is find a way out of this smoker's irritation.
I am so sorry for your situation. Maybe if you show your (sm) - Olga
[ In Reply To ..]reports and scans, etc. to the manager, they will let you break your lease. Prayers coming your way. Godspeed.
Cancer symptoms exacerbated by smoking - Luckyacew1
[ In Reply To ..]Is there another apartment in your building you could move to?? I am sure your friends and relatives if there are any around would be glad to help you move your stuff so you wouldn't have to pay a mover. If you show the manager your medical reports, I'm sure he would let you move without charging you a new deposit. Anyhow, praying for you!!
I'd be writing a letter, sent cert/return receipt s/m - sereneone
[ In Reply To ..]to my landlord about smoke coming into my apartment. As much as it is his right to smoke in a place he pays for, YOU have a right to clean air in the place you pay for. You are being exposed to second-hand smoke and it has been documented that this alone can cause cancer. Remember that saying about your rights end where my nose begins? The landlord needs to provide better ventilation or air filters or whatever. You especially need to document this if you are thinking about breaking your lease so you don't end up losing security deposit. I'd get a note from my doc about the pneumonia and include it as well, or at least about the fact that you shouldn't be exposed to second-hand smoke if you don't want to go into detail about your medical issues.
update - slowgrowing
[ In Reply To ..]When I paid rent on Friday, I included a copy of the note I gave to my neighbor, the CT scan report, a copy of the manufacturer's info pamphlet for Ibrance. I have talked to the staff several times since Jan and they say he has the right to smoke. They say I can pay all the fees associated with moving to a different apt, but cannot say whether the situation would be ant different in a different building.
I feel like I have put them on notice since I did mention my need to break the lease if the situation does not change.
I went out of town this weekend and when I got home, there was no hint of smoke in my bathroom. I don't know if the neighbor started going outside or if the manager did something; I'm just glad that at least for today I'm breathing clean air!
I really do appreciate the support you are giving me. This is a huge adjustment to make. Thank you!
TALK TO THE BUILDING MANAGER/OWNER - Cancer survivor
[ In Reply To ..]He/she should be able to help you by sealing up the vents/windows, etc/., and talking to the tenant.
Also, if his cig smoke wafts into your apartment, that is a trespass, possibly even an assault, and you might consider taking legal action.
Also, talk to your nurse navigator. Very likely, she will know of resources available, both for legal help and referral to the appropriate agency who can evaluate your apartment and take steps to ensure that 2nd hand smoke does not enter your living space.
My nurse navigator was wonderful. She had so many solutions at her fingertips for every problem I encountered while undergoing chemo, and for dealing with the aftermath of chemo. Indeed, her door is still open if I need it.
What I am - missing here?
[ In Reply To ..]You are spending $540 on a pill, obviously more on related stuff. You can certainly put in a few hundred dollars and do modifications to your apartment to get rid of this problem. It is your health, it is you who are dying, and you are not living in a utopia or ideal world. Should you expect someone to change his habit in HIS HOME for your sake or be proactive by yourself. Please think rationally.
ratiomally thinking - slowgrowing
[ In Reply To ..]I live in an apartment complex, this is my 10th year here. My neighbor moved in Oct 2016. He does not smoke in his apt when his girlfriend from Nevada visits him for a couple of months at a time, which demonstrates he is capable of compassion and restraint when he is inclined to.
I'm prohibited by my lease to make any alteration to my apartment home. I've spent over $100,000 in rent in the last 10 years. My feeling is I should be a higher priority to apt management because they get paid a bonus to retain long-term renters like me.
I think it could be said you are thinking less rationally than I.
Rational thinking and chemo brain are polar opposites - Cancer survivor
[ In Reply To ..]Not to mention that the process of going through cancer treatment is financially devastating and physically very difficult. Second hand smoke coming into your apartment is a trespass and an assault. I guess I am very lucky that when I was going through chemo, my neighbors were very kind and concerned. People on chemo/radiotherapy need every kind of support possible, not harsh words. You never know, you may have to go through it some day too.
Wow - Mary
[ In Reply To ..]I bet your social life is packed with friends who just love you to pieces. I don't think I've ever heard of someone being kinder, loving, or helpful to someone else, especially to a stranger online.
Have you spoken with - the landlord? nm
[ In Reply To ..]..
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