You're right, I do owe my life to my dentist and I've certainly let him know that's how I feel. I neglected to mention that when he first spotted the sore, he asked me to come back if it doesn't heal within 2 weeks (just like all the literature I've read say's he should). The nurse at the University hospital I went to said something that has stuck with me, "We can catch a cold or flu and feel absolutely miserable and the cold/flu is just an short term inconvenience, but often when we see cancer patients, they initially have no discomfort or pain as the cancer grows and spreads in their bodies, and often when the pain and discomfort do appear, it is too late to do anything about it." It was by the grace of God that even though I procrastinated for 3 months, my cancer did not grow significantly or spread. I appreciate your words on implants, my main concern with reconstruction is the harvest of the iliac crest bone and the subsequent healing. I hate to make my quality of life worse by undergoing elective surgery. If you or anyone else has experience with the healing and recovery of a graft harvest site, I'd certainly be interested. As for my nicotine (chewing) habit, I started in college while I studied mostly. The occasional use eventually grew to a constant habit. My wife would show me articles from newspapers and magazines but of course it would never happen to me! I'll mention your interest to my dentist next time I see him, he has diagnosed 2 more cases of oral cancer since he caught mine, prior to that, I think he said he had diagnosed only one case in the past 20 years. Throw some more questions my way if you have them. Thanks again for your forum, this site is fast becoming one of the best on the internet.