Nelie,

I forgot to mention the reason why I asked if Marcy was a non-smoker. One of my doctors mentioned that the most aggressive types of tongue cancer seem to occur in young people who are not smokers. I was told that my case is closer to a "textbook" type case. Namely, despite the fact that I'm relatively young (I'll be 35 next month), I smoked cigarettes for a bit over 17 years. Furthermore, I smoked a lot of cannabis (i.e., marijuana) throughout college and graduate school. To this I could add that I was addicted to diet sodas and ate way too much meat. Of course, this has all changed. In fact, I underwent a MAJOR lifestyle change a few months before being diagnosed (no more smoking of any type, better eating habits, etc). The point is that my case is not particularly extraordinary in the sense that my habits clearly promoted (if not "caused") my cancer.

Gino