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.