Yes. I LOVE THE RSS feed of OCF. Now I finally have a much better answer to the constant variants on the question of how did I get base of tongue cancer. Did I smoke? (tobacco did it) Did I drink? (alcohol did it) Was I a slut? (HPV did it). On this board we know none of the above is usually the correct answer even if we experimented with all of the above when young.
It's annoying and sometimes in the haze of pain of treatment even feels accusatory. thanks to OCF's RSS news feed: I have a new answer: didn't ya hear: Burning incense increases risk of cancer. It was when I went to college in the late 60s. See the the October 1, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Okay, Okay, it specifies upper respiratory tract cancers ( but its definition includes nasal/sinus, tongue, mouth, laryngeal and other cancers) "Given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke of burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications"
Not that I won't continue to educate people on HPV or smoking but sometimes I just want a more gentle smart ass answer thank "bad luck - could happen to you" (as my user name suggests, I am aiming at becoming charming in 2017.)

You are right, nobody is truly safe from this and I think this is why people want to reduce it to a simple B follows A.
Some people are genetically predisposed while others are more lucky through no virtue of their own.
There are however factors that one can avoid. If you are a heavy smoker and get cancer this is of course still tragic but not exactly a surprise statistically speaking.

M

You keep on plugging away and maybe, just maybe you'll reach your goal by 2017. lol

It could also just be bad genes. My grandmother has been a smoker forever, and she's 87 without cancer. Her son, my uncle, has been a chronic alcoholic since he was 20--he's 69 now. He would drink in excess of a couple bottles of soju everyday. Never had any cancer. He recently fell down from being so drunk and suffered a concussion and broken hip. We think he's gonna die soon from that.

Who knows.

What we do know is faulty genetics are responsible for higher incidence of certain cancers. Mutations in the BRCA1 and 2 genes have been linked to earlier and much higher rates of breast and ovarian cancer than the general public. You can get tested for this. Another gene, like HNPCC, have shown to greatly increase your risk of colon cancer.

I, on the other hand, will probably get cancer. I believe in the black swan event.

A Black Swan Event..... Jeeze do I love it when someone on the board pulls out just the right metaphor for the discussion. The unknowable unknowns......

For those of you that don't get it, the NY Times did a nice piece awhile back http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/b...1078f2b4a98c&ei=5070&oref=slogin

You mean I have to stop burning incense too?????

Lol. I am a walking black Swan event I sometimes think. I've been wanting to read that book for a while but with the semester jumping into high gear already, it probably won't be soon.

PERFECT on so many levels. Brian's link to NYT explicating MSG's Black Swan reference has the quintessential quote on what makes this forum so different: "...If you want to get an idea of a friend's temperament, ethics, and personal elegance, you need to look at him under the tests of severe circumstances, not under the regular rosy glow of daily life. " Plus I now have yet another answer and one which let's me drop an intellectual reference [the theory started with John Stuart Mill in the 1800s] (assuring my friends that I'm truly back)that also has received recent mainstream media popularity [Taleb's book]and has the added bonus of being explainable in pop culture terms ("You know, like in the X-Files")

Geez and I always thought it came from kissing a monkey. Darn and I killed my moonkey!!!

Soju? What is that?

Next time you are in Korea you should try out the effect...... though traditionally made from rice, most major brands supplement or even replace the rice with other starches such as potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca. Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume, with 20% being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to the added sugar in the manufacturing process. The hangovers are unbelievable.......