In respiratory health news, a recent study says that people with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of survival. Though this may seem intuitive, previously there was little proof that quitting smoking after developing lung cancer made any difference to survival, Fox News reports.

The British study analyzed data from 10 previous studies that looked at how long smokers survived after their lung cancer diagnoses. People with lung cancer who continued smoking had a 29 to 33 percent chance of surviving five years. But those who quit had a 63 to 70 percent chance of being alive after five years. The findings were published in the BMJ, or British Medical Journal.

The prognosis for lung cancer patients is usually poor: only about 7 percent of patients live five years past their diagnosis. Additionally, lung cancer is the top cancer worldwide.

Amanda Parsons, of the U.K. Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham and leader of the study, says, ‘The message is you should never give up on giving up (smoking). Even at the stage where you have been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer … if you give up smoking, your body can still partially recover and your risk is reduced.’

Surprisingly, not all doctors recommend smoking cessation to their patients, thinking that to promote quitting adds to the feelings of guilt in the patient and takes away a lifelong comfort from a dying individual. The study will hopefully help both doctors and patients in this crucial step of stopping smoking because the potential benefit of doins so is obviously significant.