What would you think of a doctor who, when you were already dealing with a diagnosis of cancer, lays it on you that your smoking and drinking probably caused it? He'd be pretty insensitive don't you think? But in actuality 75% of all oral cancers are lifestyle related, that is a fact not my opinion. No one wants to hear that they were the architects of their own situation, and the docs know that it serves no purpose to pass out blame; it only makes the patients mental situation worse. Their job, and this boards function is to help people get through it in the best possible way, no matter how they came to it. In Packer's case he told me that he had a lifelong relationship with both tobacco and alcohol except for a break in the middle when he got away from that part of his lifestyle choices.
However to suggest here that something other than habits that we have had in our lives caused many of us to get a cancer, does a disservice to those that come here with questions, and no diagnosis yet... it almost sounds as if smoking is OK. The fact is that tobacco IS related to our illness in a very intimate way.... three fourths of the time. Because a doctor does not belabor that point once you have a diagnosis of cancer does not mean that he dismisses its involvement, it means he knows that no good will come of a "you should have known better" once you are in his care.
Many will never know for sure exactly why this happened to them, for others the carcenogenic connections will be there clearly. The point is, for us it really does not matter why, it matters what we do now. We play the cards we have been dealt the best that we can, we try to stay free of any self recriminations, we do not become judgemental of others who perhaps made poor choices, and we owe it to others to warn them off of the things which bring too many people to oral cancer...smoking and excess alcohol use. While some can genetically get away with exposing themselves to tobacco for long periods of time, for others their genetic make up could require a very short period of exposure to wreck havoc.
