A Medically-Based Program Backed by Proven Results
There are many stories to tell about changed lives and second chances that began at the Transformations Smoke-Free program. Here are just a few:“After seven days of this program, I believe that I have been given the tools and laid the foundation to live a smoke-free life.” — Joe Brougher
Joe Brougher traveled from Indianapolis to attend the Center's ONE program, a comprehensive, one-day executive health physical, followed by our 7-day Smoke-Free program. Joe describes his experiences below.To anyone that has tried to quit smoking and has failed (or even if this is your first attempt), I highly recommend this program to you. I combined it with the ONE program. I can think of nothing better that I have done for myself in the past 10 years.
I started smoking when I was 18 years old. As most young men, I assumed that I would be able to quit whenever I wanted, that I was bulletproof. But, as I turned 40, I started to notice I was getting winded far easier. I was also adjusting my life so I could smoke, and I was one of just a few remaining smokers that I knew.
Something had to change, but I also wanted to know just how much damage I had done to myself by smoking. I wanted to know this to reinforce my effort to quit smoking and to establish a baseline of myself as I changed from a smoker to a non-smoker.
I had heard about The St. Helena Center for a Smoke Free Life program from my younger brother, who went through the program. Being skeptical, I decided to wait and see if the program was successful for him. I was astonished that even after five months, he was smoke free and living life without cigarettes. I knew then that I did not have any further excuses.
I logged onto the website and started to look at times for the program. As I browsed through the pages, I noticed that the Center for Health also offered an extensive physical examination program called the ONE program. This was perfect. I signed up for the ONE program, to be completed the day before the smoking cessation program was to start.
From the moment I arrived at the St. Helena Center for Health, I knew that I had made the right decision. Obviously, I was nervous to begin with. I was 2,000 miles from home in Indianapolis, getting ready to undergo all kinds of tests with a doctor that I had never met, just before quitting smoking. At every moment of the day, I was made to feel comfortable by all of the staff that worked with me during the physical. I truly felt that each member of the staff was interested in my well being, not just then and there, but in total. After the initial morning tests, I was provided a fantastic breakfast. This, I was later to learn was just the beginning. Even in the smoking cessation program the food was world class.
At the end of the day, I received a full and comprehensive review of all of the results with Heather Peña, M.D., medical director of the program. We reviewed all of the test results and all of the recommendations. Dr. Peña answered all of my questions, explained everything in detail and helped me formulate a plan to improve my health. Needless to say, after that day, I was completely aware of my health, and prepared to do the things necessary to improve it. The ONE program exceeded my expectations in every way possible.
The Smoke-Free Life program has also been a truly good experience. Our group had seven participants, all from different backgrounds. We quickly found that even though we were different, we were also confronting the same basic issue - quitting smoking. The group size was large enough to make group activities fun and entertaining, but small enough to allow the staff to really focus their attention on our individual needs. The schedule is such that you are kept pleasantly busy with adequate time for reflection and relaxation.
The credentials of every single staff member are amazing. They know their stuff, and that is communicated very effectively. Yet they are able to take complex ideas and communicate them in a way that you can understand, even while dealing with the fact that you have just quit smoking. Each day I have come away with important information that can help me stay smoke free once I leave.
Most importantly, after seven days of this program, I believe that I have been given the tools and laid the foundation to live a smoke free life.
“I recommend these programs to everyone and that's saying something after 37 years as a smoker.” — May Mary Cummings
Garden City, Kansas resident May Mary Cummings participated in both the Transformations Smoke-Free and Weight Management programs. Here’s her story:“I smoked for 37 years and never tried to quit before now," says May Mary Cummings, a resident of Garden City, Kansas. "I always thought I could quit myself, but then I realized I really couldn't.”
Cummings came to the Center for a Smoke-free Life because her first granddaughter would soon be born. "I want to be the best that I can be (for my granddaughter)," she said. "I was getting close to age 60. I am 57, and want to be a cute, energetic, sassy, grandmother, but I wasn't feeling good, so I decided to quit smoking."
With this in mind she searched the Internet for a program to help her quit. "I looked at Hazelton, but when I found the St. Helena website and learned about the Transformations weight management program as well, I made my decision," she said. "I wanted to quit smoking, but didn't want to gain weight. I signed up for both programs because I wanted to stop smoking and learn how to eat right."
"Besides," she says, "I'd been to the Napa Valley before. Its beautiful and I wanted to be somewhere beautiful."
She was pleased with her experience in both programs. "Before I arrived, I was apprehensive, she said. I was hoping I'd made the right decision to travel so far."
Fear quickly became joy. "My experience was fabulous. I was fortunate to be in a group with wonderful participants. We were a cohesive group with a sense of humor. We talked about the pain and fear of giving up smoking."
Through the Smoke-Free Life program she was able to receive medications when she had a problem with withdrawal symptoms. "I had a headache (at first after quitting) and I couldn't sleep, I got immediate help with nicotine replacement and these symptoms passed quite quickly," she said.
She had always thought she was pretty fit and ate right, but the Transformations Weight Management program taught her a lot about eating. "I learned about new foods. I came away with a lot of good ideas for cooking."
Something that was really eye opening for her was the plant based diet that is the cornerstone of the Transformations program. "I come from a beef-producing family in Kansas. It was really fun to try new foods and a new way of eating." She is so dedicated to her new way of eating that she decided to take the program recipe binder and will copy the recipes for her sisters. "I plan to give these to all of them for Christmas, That's how strongly I feel about food and nutrition now that I've attended the program."
She says she "couldn't think of a better place to make life-changing progress for her health than at the Center for Health at St. Helena Hospital. I thoroughly enjoyed all the staff and got close to many of the participants in both programs. The smoking group was such a team, I think we’ll be 100 percent quitters," she said.
She is so excited about the program that she is talking about her experience to friends and neighbors. "I recommend these programs to everyone and that's saying something after 37 years as a smoker."
“We had a super group for the Smoke-Free program…I have a picture of everyone in the group on my mirror. When I feel like having a cigarette, I just look at those pictures.” — Anna Ghandour
While at the St. Helena Center for Health, Anna Ghandour participated in both the Smoke-Free and Weight Management programs. Here’s Anna’s story:"When you have a grandchild born, says Anna Ghandour, a recent graduate of The Smoke-Free Life and Transformations programs offered at The St. Helena Center for Health, "you realize you want to stick around for a while."
Anna, who smoked for 45 years, found last year that she couldn't get back up off the floor where she had been playing with her granddaughter, Nia. "I couldn't breath and I would cough all the time."
At age 62, she had tried to quit smoking "hundreds of times, but never lasted longer than three weeks." In hopes that a medically-based, in-hospital program would help her end her seemingly hopeless addiction, her husband Ted signed her up for both programs.
In the seven-day Smoke-Free program, the nicotine replacement therapy, as well as anti-depressants, was extremely helpful to her quitting. "I was monitored daily. The urge to smoke became less and less."
The psychological support supplied by the members of the group was extremely important in her quitting smoking as well. "We had a super group for the Smoke-Free program. We sent emails and cards to each other," she said. "I have a picture of everyone in the group on my mirror. When I feel like having a cigarette, I just look at those pictures."
Once her smoking addiction was diminished, Anna began the 11-day Transformations Weight and Lifestyle Management program. The program taught her to how to eat right and stay fit.
The experience opened her eyes to her eating habits, which had been built around cigarettes. "I never ate breakfast or lunch," she said. "I only ate dinner and I had wine every night. Most of my daily calories came from bad things."
Gradually, as the physical effects of smoking began to leave her system, she was able to eat three meals a day. "Now my ability to taste things has come back and I'm beginning to enjoy healthy food."
She also began to exercise. "I loved the exercise portion as well," she said. "I slept well every night because of it. Exercise and eating nutritious food will become a part of her life," she said. "Ben and Jerry are no longer my best friends.
Both programs offered her expert advice on the physical and psychological aspects of quitting smoking and regaining healthy eating and exercise habits. "The two programs teach you to control your life rather than it controlling you."
Anna found that taking two programs back-to-back gave her the much-needed medical, psychological and educational ammunition to help her change her life and health for the better. "I would urge those that are considering The Smoke-Free Life program to consider the Transformations program as well," she said. "Once you think you have quit tobacco, the Transformations program will give you the self-confidence to go through the rest of you life without smoking."
“My life has changed immensely since I've been off cigarettes.” — Doug Roberts
Smoke-Free program participant Doug Roberts was so impressed with his treatment that he donated $100,000 to support the program. Here’s Doug’s story:"I was controlled by my smoking addiction," says Doug Roberts, a businessman and former attorney from southern California, and recent participant in the St. Helena Center for Health's seven-day tobacco-dependence treatment program.
Doug's journey to stop smoking after 26 years was not easy. But his decision to stop will carry a legacy for years to come. Upon graduation, Doug was so impressed with the treatment at St. Helena, especially the recent addition of individually tailored nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), or pharmacotherapy, that he donated $100,000 to support the program.
Doug continues, "there are no words to describe how embarrassing it is when your children look at you and say, why don't you just quit, Dad? Not only do you worry about the secondhand smoke and what it might be doing to your kids, you are so ashamed that they see you as weak and out of control!"
"I would travel with my family and have to leave the airport a couple of times to have a smoke. I couldn't sit through a movie or enjoy a leisurely meal. At times I literally dug through dirty ash trays, looking for a half-smoked cigarette!” Doug now feels he's got his life back. "At the St. Helena Center for Health," he says, "I finally confronted the demon and was forced to witness the effects of smoking. One member of my group had damaged vocal cords. Another had undergone surgery for throat cancer.
The group aspect is an important part of the program, because only a heavily addicted smoker can really understand what another one is going through. "My life has changed immensely since I've been off cigarettes," says Doug. "Before, I couldn't exercise. I would get so out of breath it was scary. I would sweat the nicotine out of my system and then suffer withdrawal symptoms. Now, the nicotine rush has been replaced by a natural endorphin high that feels great!"
Individually tailored behavioral and medical treatment of tobacco dependence, or pharmacotherapy, is a key component of the St. Helena program. The key reasons for failure to stop smoking are the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, lack of ability to concentrate, cravings, sleeplessness and emotional instability. When these symptoms are alleviated, the psychological symptoms of quitting become more manageable. Doug explains, "I believe a residential program is necessary to form the group dynamic, isolate participants from stressors, and have time for education about nutrition, exercise and the effects of smoking on the brain. Being in a medical setting is crucial because it’s a reminder that you're fighting a medical condition. All aspects of St. Helena's program are necessary to make it work."
"But the best part is how I feel about myself. My shame has been replaced by a high degree of self-esteem and optimism. I feel such relief knowing that my life is no longer controlled by an addiction. I gave seven days of my life to save years. It was the only way I could have done it!"
Doug made his gift to the tobacco-dependence program because he wants to help free others from addiction. He says, "The St. Helena Center for Health program is comprehensive, practical and compassionate. I want to help make it available for others!"
