hello - my husband, mark, has been chewing tobacco for 20 years, since he was 15 and started to play baseball. we have been arguing about "the chew" for 8 long years. he promised he would quit when we were married, when we had babies and until recently no luck. i am a realitist and have been doing everything i can to make an impression on him. he argued, it is his life and i need to let him be. as i read your stories, my heart truly breaks as i have gone through the senerios countless times in my head of what could happen to our family. last week we found out that a very close friend has oral cancer. i think, unfortunately, this finally is motivating him to stop.
has anyone ever heard of things that can help repair damage that has been done??
can someone try and motivate him so this is the last time he "trys" to quit?? HELP!
he also drinks a lot of beer and i am just discovering now the link between oral cancers and drinking. can anyone direct me more information??

thank you so much for your bravery and courage. hopefully, we can save this one. we have three little kids and they really would prefer a healthy daddy.

Pamela,there is a lot of information on the main site here, but I would suggest that your husband read the stories of real people found here: http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/people/index.htm These stories are both heartbreaking and inspirational, and above all, sobering. This might give him a look at what could be in his future. You are to be commended for trying to help him kick that dangerous habit. Good luck to both of you.
Joanna

Pamela,

Your husbands story parallels mine pretty closely. I started chewing a bit later but did put enough in my mouth between the ages of 20 and 35 to cause cancer. My wife also encouraged me to quit often but I had the "it can't happen to me" mentality. It did happen, and if not for the quick recognition and referal by my dentist, the outcome could have been much different. As it was, I lost 3 teeth and the supporting bone on the roof of my mouth up to my sinus. I have since had bone grafted from my hip and have had dental implants placed to replace the missing teeth. At the time of my diagnosis, I had no pain and did not even know that the cancer was there until my dentist pointed it out. My first surgery was in October 2000 and I have been cancer free on all subsequent checkups. I hope that seeing someone in a similar age group will help convince your husband that "it can happen to me". My wife and I also have three children between the ages of 10 and 16, and my biggest regret is what pain I must have put them and my wife through during the initial phases of diagnosis and treatment. Good luck to you and your family.