I have tongue cancer and never smoked one cigarette. I do not drink a lot of alcohol. I have no idea why I got this. I do have a bad case of gerd with no esophogial cancer. Anyone know of any other reasons I may have got this?
I sure like to know what happened.

No one will be able to answer your question as to why you got cancer Marge. There are alot of members who don't fall into the risk area of smoking and drinking that have cancer. What you will find here is all the support from people who have traveled the road you are now on. Questions on treatment, side effects, and support in general.
Have you started your treatment? What treatment has been scheduled for you? What stage is the cancer? P;ease post more details about your cancer and what your treatment will be. There will be several people who will offer advice and support. Take Care and good luck. Dan

Hi Marge,
Statistically, 25% of oral cancer patients neither drank nor smoked. The fact you never did should have a positive effect on your treatment and survivorship.

You may never know the actual reason. Science is still trying to figure out how cancer works. Right now all they have are theories.

I disagree with Gary, there is a great deal known about the causes of cancers, particularly the genetic alterations and subsequent mutations that lead up to malignancy. The beginnings of genetic mutation which must occur about four times, passed on to daughter cells and then their progeny, to become a malignancy are generated by a variety of things. The most common are chemicals, radiation, viruses, and inherited genetic defects. In oral cancers the most common cause, chemicals (via tobacco by products under combustion) is seconded by alcohol, which even though a chemical, acts more in synergy to facilitate the access of tobacco carcinogens through to the cells by thinning the cell wall itself, (smoking and drinking are a common combination in our society), and virals, particularly the same virus that causes 95% of cervical cancer, HPV 16 and 18. Most of the lecturers that I have heard and doctors that I speak with blame the majority of the 25% non-tobacco user patients on virals, but there can be other reasons. A very small percentage have an inherited gene p-53 defect, and there may be other environmental factors yet to be identified which will contribute another small percentage. Retrospective inquiry seldom yields satisfaction to cancer patients. If they had a lifestyle habit that caused their malignancy, they fall prey to self-recrimination and beating themselves up, to no good end. If they were virally infected there is no way to tell where in the chain of sexual partners (the most likely transmission of HPV) they could place the blame as it could have been decades before. None of this leads to satisfactory knowledge that can be used to any purpose. The important thing now is the future. Making good decisions about treatment and fighting to beat the disease. Looking for cause yields nothing and does not help treatment. Except for smokers, the rest of us will likely never know for sure........

Theory: A supposition or an assumption based on certain evidence or observations but LACKING SCIENTIFIC PROOF (emphasis added).
[Source: Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary]

We can agree to disagree. While there is much known, particularly in the area of causal relationships, the actual mechanisms for causing cancer still remain a mystery and are shrouded in theories and hypothesis, some of them conflicting.
These theories form the basis upon which treatment protocols are developed. The "viral causes" are also a theory.

I have yet to see a "doctrine" or "principle" associated with cancer, which would be the next step up from a theory.

Do a google search on "Oncogene Theory" - I rest my case (and read just the ones from accredited institutions not the oddball ones).

The original question that I responded too was "Anyone know of any other reasons I may have got this?" Just to keep the thread on topic.

I do agree with you on one thing - the reason ISN'T as important as the cure and good health habits.

The mechanism by which HPV alters cells casuing them to become malignant. is well understaood as are the actual genetic changes that take place. As this evidence and scientific proof of viral causes of malignancy exist, viral causes are NOT theory. Hundreds of articles have been published on this one aspect of oral cancer ( and cervical cancer) alone. I suggest that we keep the focus of the board on things which are actually usable to the people that read it, and not on the esotereic aspects of science which will have no impact on their understanding which effects their treatment.

Well, being another member of the 25% that didn't smoke or drink, so who knows, maybe viral?? Don't spend the energy on why. You will need all the mental energy you have to get you through the cure. You have to go on with your life, put up with what it takes to cure you--the good, the bad and the ugly. Once through it life does get better! You can survive this thing if you take it day by day!

I'm at 1 year past treatment and still cancer free. Take every day as a gift!

I am also interested in the HPV/viral topic since there is a drug that potentially can reduce the cancer risk. So I discussed this with my chemo & ENT docs who work at a major institution that is conducting research on the connection. To my surprise, neither of them seemed to put much importance on the connection. On the other hand, the rad doc from the same institute thought it is quite interesting. So I wondered why top docs aren

You have to remember that while 40% of the American population has HPV, there are over 90 different variations of it (numbered). 16 and 18 are the culprits in oral cancer it would appear, but no one knows for sure how many of that huge 40% have these versions. It is believed that the bulk of the remaining versions do mostly benign things like cause warts. When it comes to doctor

hi Brian,

your perspective helps me appreciate the broader picture. yet,

did i understand what you wrote? HPV 16/18 comes and goes - not a permanent thing? that would really complicate things... like thinking that it might be associated with life style some 30 yrs ago. perhaps the virus takes on a form that just isn't picked up by the screening technique reliably.

so, what's the buzz?

cu,
larryb

Indeed, people who have tested positive for 16 /18 have later tested free of it, which would indicate the bodies ability to irradicate it for some periods of time. This statement is a matter of dispute between experts. This likly has to do whith the types of tissues in which the virus lives. Herpes virus lies dormant in the nerves; reactivation may result from emotional stress, physical trauma, hormonal changes or other illnesses. Papilloma virus lives in cells of the outer skin, which are sloughed off and replaced at a rapid interval by the body, and which may be more receptive to the immune systems defenses. No research has defined why some people are able to clear the virus and some are not. Much of the important work on the connection of cervical and oral cancers was done at at Johns Hopkins http://pathology2.jhu.edu/department/grvideo.cfm?confid=121 by Dr. Maura Gillison, a worthwhile lecture if you are really interested in this. At the same facility, is Dr. Sydransky ( who is an OCF Board Member) has done extensive published work on the same subject. In 2003 Time Magazine named David as the best oncologist in the US.