Actually the article has been up for awhile. We can trust Sheldon to see that our news portion of the site is as curtrent as the day before we look at it. He's always working on it. Whether they are human interest stories, or scientific articles, our Mr. Sax is on top of it. Here is the link to the story in the OCF site. http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=859 (Without all the advertising I might add)

The news section of the web site is the second most popular section of the web site after the first general information page; oral cancer facts.

What ranking is the BB?

I am only asking cause I think I am guilty of many times navigating straight to the forums without checking news, etc.

I wonder if I am the only one doing this? :-)

I have to say, that at this point being pretty much convinced theres something there in my case (I now have a small ulcerated area on the back of my right tonsil, but oh well, cant do anything about it til my appt. on the 29th), I do agree with what someone said above that if it isnt 0 percent, 2 percent, 5 or even 10 percent chance like so many cancers out there (late stage Colorectal, Pancreatic, Stomach,) that are much more common and not to mention painful, its worth fighting for. Given all the data that go into even the statistics themselves, 30 percent is something. I had extreme pain in my abdomen for along time that my doctors couldnt diagnose and I couldnt even go out anymore sometimes, I was convinced THAT was something with my pancreas. Now in retrospect maybe that was a little over the top for my age, but not with the oral disease, it seems to be attacking younger and younger everyday, so the odds are going to be skewed no matter who you get them from.

I had to sit back and analyze some of my feelings the other day, and reading all the stories on this site had gotten me sad, for both those suffering here, and knowing what might be coming for me. I was beginning to feel like there was no other possibility, but going back to the car forums I visit frequently, the truth is the main people who visit those sites, do so because they had a problem and need something answered. I imagine theres probably plenty of people everyday who never come here and make it through just fine.

Michael - Because the message board is contained in a cgi bin, we cannot count the traffic to it, though there is little question that it is a busy part of the site. The milliions of hits the main site gets that we know of, surely are many more when you consider the traffic to this board. That cgi bin is the same reason that the message board has its own unique search engine, separate from the more sophisticated one for the main site. Like many of you, I have the message board saved as a favorite on my IE nav bar and just clik on it to see what is happening with everyone. And you are not alone in coming directly here. There are literally hundreds of pages of content with the answers to many of the routine questions here, but rather than read through it all, search the site etc., it is so much easier to just as a question here. Lazy, but easier. The answers are personal and that is a distinct attraction. Ditto the interpersonal relationships that we all develop. The difference is the answers drawn from the content of the site are contained in data that has been approved and reviewed by many different doctors from different diciplines. The strength of the message board is that it comes from personal experience. Each has its own unique value. Not everyone is interested in the latest news....they just want the interaction with people who can relate to their situation. Nothing to feel guilty about there... it's a primary function of the board - mutual support.

Brian and Sheldon,

Thanks for getting the article up. Wasn't aware that it was.

Jerry