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As best I can remember, I've dipped the same brand of tobacco for about
30 years. In seventh grade I started hanging out with a few cowboy types. My
father chews tobacco and did back then. But chew never interested me much. A
few of my friends dipped, thus I dipped too. The warning labels on the cans of
smokeless didn't appear until 1986, and I remember I didn't need to be a
certain age to buy it. I even won a trip to the Daytona 500 in 1991 from the
makers of my dip.
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So I dipped. I learned how to hide it from teachers and bosses. I
could dip all day and no one ever knew I had one in my mouth. If I was hunting,
I dipped. If I was fishing, I dipped. I was never hooked on it of course.
RIGHT! I was hooked big time. Though I had quit a few times I never gave it up.
If you ever dipped, gave it up, then started again, you most likely know the
high you get from it. It is addictive. It is a drug.
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| One day I noticed a spot on the inside of my cheek. Was I worried?
I guess in a way I wondered about it, but I knew it wasn't cancer. I couldn't
get cancer. I finally went to an oral surgeon in September 2005. He did a
biopsy and wasn't exactly optimistic. When I got the phone call, the news
wasn't good. Squamous Cell Carcinoma. As it was explained to me, this is a skin
cancer. What made it bad though is it had gone unchecked inside my mouth since
it was out of sight. Thus it became what the doctors called moderately
invasive.
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| I set up an appointment with M.D.Anderson Cancer Center. If I was
gonna get cancer work done, I was going to the best. After running CT scans
other tests, my doctor came to the same conclusion. Very little time was wasted
and my operation was set up for December 8, 2005. I was told of the
difficulties involved. The loss of feeling. How it would take time to talk
right again. That eating would be a problem. Dr. Holsinger let me know from
square one, he wouldn't know how much had to be taken til he got in and tested
the area. I ended up losing 3 teeth, alot of gum and the inside lining of my
cheek. The following are just a few of the pictures from my surgery. One
picture even shows the complete area removed from me.
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The section cut out of my leg is what was placed inside my
mouth. More was put in than needed because swelling cannot be determined and
now I wait til they are sure all swelling is gone. So I was to see a plastic
surgeon to remove the excess once the swelling went down. I opted not to do
this as it could cause the loss of more feeling than had already occured.
They had also put a feeding tube in my nose. However, once I
started waking up in ICU, I ended up throwing the tube up. And since a feeding
tube in my side was impractical as it would have to stay in for 5 to 6 weeks, I
did without. Quickest 30 pounds I ever lost. Not a recommended diet plan.
I went through several weeks of therapy but will never be the
same. I still have problems with my neck and tightness. And probably always
will.
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