Leonard Nimoy Reveals Lung Disease Diagnosis, Urges Fans To Quit Smoking

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post

"Star Trek" star Leonard Nimoy, 82, revealed he is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after photos of him sitting in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask hit the web.

According to the COPD Foundation, "COPD is an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis." It is characterized by increasing breathlessness.

Nimoy took on the role of Spock in 1966, notes the BBC.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/leonard-nimoy-lung-disease-smoking_n_4741076.html

[bigdarryl]

1. DAMN!! I hate to here that

[Nanjing to Seoul]

3. I hate the HEAR that too.

[merrily]

9. Only a typo. Meant to type "I hate to hear that here."

Getting bad news at DU is a bummer.

[Loaded Liberal Dem]

2. Live Long and Prosper, Leonard!

Stick around for a while! It's the logical thing to do!

[Botany]

4. I wish him well

[Kelvin Mace]

5. The here of my childhood

and why I fix computers for a living.

Damn...

[JackInGreen]

6. Met him a coupld of years ago at ECCC

Just for a moment. It was pretty inspirational (and costly). Makes me glad we quit (AGAIN!) 2 months ago, and going strong.

[Skittles]

33. remember: N.O.P.E. <------- <--------

NOT ONE PUFF EVER!!!

[JackInGreen]

34. thanks for the support

But the hyper vigilant 'never ever' crowd on anything tends to put me right off my French fried lobster.

[leftyohiolib]

7. i wonder what HE told people when they urged him to quit?

[merrily]

11. "I know I should, but...."

I've noticed two groups. One gets nasty. (I have not encountered that personally, but seen other people told off.) The other, which I notice much more often, gets sheepish, embarrassed and basically admits they can't face it, at least not at that time.

I can't imagine Nimoy being in the nasty response category when someone is trying to help him.

[AtheistCrusader]

19. Same with any additction.

Some refuse to recognize that they are addicted, and get belligerent. Others realize it, but cannot help themselves.

[merrily]

20. Old joke:

I am not addicted. I can stop smoking any time I want. I've done it forty times.

[Omaha Steve]

8. Marta and I met him when he had the flu

It was after he preformed his one man show "Vincent". It was just before e Star Trek I started filming. Yes we got our B&W spock photo autographed.

Sorry he is suffering from his smoking past. Glad he is sending out a warning.

[catrose]

10. I loved "Vincent!"

I watched my tape over and over, which shows how long ago it was.

[merrily]

12. Thank you for the warning.

[sorefeet]

13. No body can claim ignorance

anymore. After years of anti-smoking campaigns, There is enough facts and evidence that says, tobacco will kill you. I have buried lots of friends who have died directly from tobacco smoke. I have friends now who are in their 50s who are gray complexioned from lack of oxygen because they are so plugged up from tobacco. My buddy Bill who is 55 can't walk from one end of his garage to the other and he is out of breath. And still smokes. These are warning signs, he knows about them but ignores it. So needless to say I am not going to be surprised when I walk in his garage and see him tits up. I am tired of telling him how stupid it is to continue a path to an early grave. Denial. I even had a smoking friend who said there is no proof that tobacco causes cancer. She died last year of pancreas cancer. It was caused from smoking.

[fasttense]

14. My husband has COPD

and he was still smoking.

Then he got congestive heart failure and flash edema in his lungs. It almost killed him. One of his his kidneys got blocked up from all that tar he was sucking down. An emergency upper and lower GI for a perforated ulcer in November and a quadruple open heart surgery by-pass later, in December, saved his life. This was followed by dialysis for 2 months and cardio rehab. He is a much thinner and smoke free man. He is still on blood pressure meds.

If cigarettes don't kill you when you're young, they will kill you when you turn 60. Quit before they catch up with you.

I quit 2 years ago and am not 60 yet. So I hope and pray I quit before it got me.

[merrily]

21. I hope and pray for that, too.

And for your husband and strength and better health for both of you.

Blessings.

[sorefeet]

15. I have a few friends who

have done jail and prison time.( Not really hard to do in America) After years of not smoking, they get out and bum a cigarette. I said, what the fuck are you doing, you had it whipped. It had never crossed their minds that they didn't crave tobacco anymore. You would think that the prison industrial complex would tell them.

[merrily]

22. I know people who quit 30 years ago and say they stil miss it.

I know a hairdresser who quit years ago. She is under 50. She told me she plans to start again when she is 75, I guess on the theory that it works slowly and she'll go before it gets her.

I couldn't ask what she was thinking because I knew I would start lecturing if I did.

The physical addiction may go, but you still crave it.

[RebelOne]

23. I am 75 years old and have been smoking since I was 16.

I had a chest X-ray last week for a pre-op examination for cataract surgery. My X-rays showed that my lungs were clean. So how can that be when I have been smoking most of my life? I guess I have just been lucky.

[merrily]

24. You have and part of it is genetic.

But genes don't light the cigarettes.

[mdbl]

29. Not me, quit after 30 years, haven't smoked for 12

Don't miss it a bit. I do wish I had quit sooner, I would have more oxygen in my system.

[awoke_in_2003]

32. and a lot more money...

I shudder when I think of all the money I spent on cigs over the years.

[Brickbat]

31. I quit 15 years ago and still miss it.

Some times more than others, but if there were no health consequences, I'd light up in a second all over again.

[HoosierCowboy]

16. Not to worry Spock...

....Sheldon Cooper just signed up to donate you his right lung.

[Jack Rabbit]

17. Live long and prosper

[hrmjustin]

18. I wish him well.

[bpj62]

25. 4th Leading Killer of Americans

my father-in-law has COPD and it is hard to watch him breathe sometimes. He isn't on oxygen yet but we all know that it will happen soon. It is a progressive disease and eventually you die from lack of oxygen. I have been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid in the early 70's and I would watch reruns of the original series. Spock should have told Leonard that smoking was illogical.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

26. I hate being at the age where everyone who was an adult when I was a kid is,...

....reminding me that I'm not a kid anymore.

Bad enough that I do something on the roof and decide I'm too old to jump off now and head for the ladder.

[yuiyoshida]

27. JUST love him..

[Diclotican]

28. onehandle

onhandle

After being in a hospital a few weeks back - and having the room together for a few days, with an older gentleman who had emphysema in a rather evolved stage I would say - it is a nasty illness to get - and it just getting worse as the time goes... I for one if I had bee smoking, would have quit the habit by the end of that hospital stay... I'm not sure how it ended with the older gentleman but I do hope he at least was given some medical help who cold lessen his health problems when he was in hospital.. The problems with my kidneys was paling in comparison to what he was experiencing

My father died of that illness too - after being smoking for more than 50 years - the lungs finely got the best of him - he had emphysema for a long time - but he was good as hiding it - to he really got sick the last couple of weeks of his life..

[mdbl]

30. Deforest Kelly died of smoking related illness

Love him too. Damn cancer sticks!