I've never for one moment asked "why me?" The history of my own cancer seems so clear cut and simple. We've always heard the "sore that doesn't heal" warning. I developed "lichen planus" about 12 years ago on the right side of my tongue - right where it laid against an amalgam that had just been replaced. A dermatologist sent me for allergy testing last year, and sure enough, I'm very sensitive to the Mercury in the amalgam, and Nickel in the base of my crowns. So... let's get it out, right? The dentist who removed that amalgam told me immediately that it was "not right - too soft and too shiny." Turns out they used to mix this stuff manually and didn't always get the mix right. So, now we see that this lichen planus is really a contact dermatitis, that finally went "bad" and turned cancerous.

I don't smoke, don't drink, and don't have HPV. I asked my doc how much would it take to add a simple screening tool on the pages that all new cancer patients complete. He's a respected researcher - his reply was, "I'm an immunologist." I begged him to go home and talk to his wife - who is the doctor in the dermatology clinic where my patch test was done.

What I find so frustrating is the unwillingness of the medical folks to even consider other possible environmental causes. As my friend, Freya Koss, has testified, why is it that the only safe place for Mercury seems to be in my mouth? I realize that the ADA is likely petrified of liability issues, and they have "dug in" to state that mercury amalgam is entirely safe. And yet... and yet... do you know they recapture that amalgam that is removed from old fillings? Too toxic for the waste system.

Anyway, all this information was too little too late for me. By the time the tests were done, and fillings removed, the sore had turned cancerous. However, the white spots are now gone.