Chelle, They also think my husbands cancer was related to the EBV Virus. They asked my husband if he was ever in South East Asia, and he said he was in Guam and Vietnam during the war. So who knows, my husband chewed for 30 years. He stopped cold turkey on 1/4/07(the day he ws told he had cancer) A few of his friends stopped chewing since his cancer but some say it won't happen to me. I am sickened by this. But he did asked the Dr. if the chewing was the cause of his cancer and they told him they just didn't know for sure but it certainly didn't help, It is just the luck of the draw! Would your chances of been smaller without the chew? Of course but who knows. So much uncertainty in this cancer world. I have to hold myself back when I see a young person chewing, I want to go up and tell them our story. One thing I do know, I have a large youth group I am in charge of at our church and you can bet they will hear my story come fall!!! LJ

I will throw in what my ENT told me last year when I was diagnosed with Base of Tongue. I had been a smoker for 40 years but she told me that the stats show that 8% of all BOT cases involve folks who have never touched tobacco. I guess she was trying to make me feel a bit better as I was convinced that I did it to myself with no one to blame but me. Not even R.J. Reynolds.

Bill D.

Barb,

In case you missed this thread I started last week, check out the link in my post. It might help you understand the addictive nature of nicotine and why it is so hard for people to stop. http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get_topic/f/1/t/001386.html

The inforamtion on the radiation from Polonium is very interesting, too.

I discuss smoke cessation almost daily with my patients and I agree with some statistics that I recently read that 80% of the people that smoke, want to stop. I think that the 20% that don't, either think that they won't get cancer or they enjoy smoking so much, they really don't care! Do you know that there have been cases of people smoking through their trach hole after having throat cancer? Hard for us non-smokers to understand.

Jerry

I for one am tired of hearing smokers come up with excuse after excuse. The insurance company should not pay one dime for a smoker health insurance, that might help with there addiction.
Smoking is not only bad for your health your family health anyone who gets near ya. Besides that it makes you stink like ash tray. I got my cancer because of smoking. Everytime I look in a mirror it reminds me of what a dum ass I was.

It sounds to me like your angry that you got this cancer instead of "someone that smokes" and are not looking to lash out at smokers. That makes no sense. A smoker doesn't "deserve" cancer anymore than a nonsmoker does. It's that simple really. It's very, very easy to judge someone else from the other side of the room but I suspect that we ALL have our vices in life. I know my grandmother cannot function with out her cup of tea first thing in the morning. No different a feeling then smokers have, no different an addiction. Only difference is that tea isn't a carcinogen.
Whether or not someone else smokes has no effect on your cancer so why waste emotion and energy on it by judging them?

Well said Minnie.Dont you think cancer is punishment enough Dogman do you really think sufferers need reminding that their habit is probaly the cause of the disease even more so if they drink as well.

I gave up smoking 7 years ago but now as result of the enormous strees of Robins illness i am back with my filthy habit and i hate it.I could have gone to the Doctor and become a valium addict,i could have turned into an alcohol dependant soak,i could have turned to sleeping pills or worse to drugs.
We all have addictions of some kind or another some with more serious than others,and it is very easy to be critical,particularly after the horse has bolted,but i paid my national insurance stamps all my working life,and i also paid a very high tax and duty on every cigarette i smoked ,so any cost to the health service for treating any illness i get as a result has been well and truly paid in to.and i will give up again when i have coped.!!!

For what ever nit wit reason you come up with to smoke make no sense what so ever. You know what smoking has done and what it can do. State after state is baning smoking for a very good reason it will kill you. Insurance companies for one after they have paid for our bad habit once, should drop you in a heart beat if you smoke again.
Minniea Angry would be one word for what I think of smokers, Anyone who keeps smoking after what we went threw, must of got some brain damage along the way.

Now hasn't this opened a WHOLE can of worms!
I don't think ANYONE 'deserves' to get cancer. I wouldn't wish it on the most evil people in this world never mind just because someone somkes!
People that smoke KNOW the potential risks. In the UK it's printed in black & white on every packet!
I don't judge people that smoke - it's an addiction (that can be treated with medical assistance & a big dollop of will power). It's no better than being an alcoholic though - just as not every smoker will die from their vice, not every alchi will die from from liver cancer or something alcohol related.
I'm far from perfect!
If we wanted to completely rid ourselves of carcinogens we'd have to eat differently, use different cleaning products, use different deodourants, different toiletries, the list is endless. BUT it's a fact that cigarette smoke has many carcinogens that CAN & DO directly cause cancers. But i do respect that's it's your individual choice. I dont push my views on my family - my dad smokes, my step mum, sister, step dad & my partner of 6&half years. They respect me for not wanting to be around it.
My mum gave up on July 1st this year & so far so good. (she waited until then, because the stress from me being ill meant she didn't have the will power to do it before).
Anyway, good for you Joy!

So dogman if a person has two carwrecks or two bigmacs should they be denied insurance. Should we give parents who give their children french fries out of the deepfryer forty lashings on town square. You are not lifes teacher, life is. Your freedom is a gift that this smoker fought for as well as many others are doing.

No smoking is not the best idea and smoking around our children is selfish. Cancer as well as many other diseases are costing our nation a boatload of money. All we really know about are risk factors aside from the new HPV findings. Sunburns raise the risk for cancer too and I assure you that many of those who get them had nothing to do with the depletion of the protective layer that we used to have. So awareness and lifestyle changes will help. Adaptation to new problems will help. Hope and compassion will help. Anger, disrespect (especially to those who have openly had compassion toward you plight), and judgement will only cause us to waste time, when we could be carrying a good message of information to those who need it. Thanks, Lee

Dogman, if you choose to waste time and energy on being angry at someone that smokes, more power to you. I can promise that it won't get you anywhere and it won't change anything for you. But just as that person is free to smoke, you are also free to have your feelings.