My name is Jeff and I haven't had oral cancer, but am in the highest risk group. I have survived two major battles with other diseases, one was when I had lung tumors and another when I was told that I would die within the next 24 hours. The doctor was wrong and I pulled through, and after a few years fully recovered. So I do know a little about the emotional side of things. I came to this board because I was concerned about white patches in my mouth. I guess not just concerned but scared, ecspecially with my back ground. I was glad to find this place and have learned a lot. You all have my support if needed, feel free to email me if you would like to.

I thought I would add one more thing. I quit smoking because of the lung tumors. I switched to spit tabacco because I thought it was a whole lot safer.

I understand the difficulty in stopping the use of tobacco, but I am sorry to inform you that your decision to switch to spit tobacco may not help your lot in life. The truth is, there is good data that shows that spit tobacco may be more dangerous than smoking. Please read about it in the tobacco part of our site. Its close and prolonged contact with the soft tissues in the oral environment make it a leading cause of oral cancers. Sports figures en mass have stopped using it, and begun to speak out against its use. There are few playing fields in the US where ballplayers can chew while engaged in the sport. NSTEP is an organization with tons of information on this type of tobacco use (visit their web site) and none of it is good. You may have traded one demon for another. Please also read the Tuttle story and the Sean Marsee story in our people section. I won't preach anymore. Please just check out the information and then make an intelligent, informed decision for yourself.

Yep, I read all the stories and at the time that I switched it was a general belief that it was a safer. That was back in 1980 something. I've been quitting ever since.

I think that Mark Twain said it the best, " Quitting tobacco is easy, I've done it hundreds of times".

I'm one of the (relatively) young oral cancer patients. I'm almost a year and a half out from surgery and my use of chew. I don't miss it in the least, and I was a dusk to dawn tobacco user for at least the past 10 years. People ask me if I think that the chewing tobacco caused my cancer and my standard answer has been: "I cannot be totally sure but if you read the warning on the can it reads, THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE MOUTH CANCER" It's really hard to plea ignorance when you have seen this warning for years. I begin my reconstructive surgery on March 20th, and hope to have all phases of the bone grafting and oral implants done by Christmas. I have three children, ages 9 through 15, I have put them through terrible worry and pain and I live with that daily, anyone who is having problems kicking the habit need only to look at the loved ones around you and think of the impact your "habit" could have on them if it ends up taking your life. Good Luck, I have immense respect for anyone who gives up a vice without being kicked in the teeth first, I was not so smart and hopefully will not end up paying with my life. How selfish I would feel if that were the case.