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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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| Last year 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. When
I got the phone call, the news wasn't good. Squamous Cell Carcinoma. As it was
explained to me, this was basically 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 8th. 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. I have to go back in a few months and the plastic surgeon will remove
what is not needed. More was put in than needed because swelling cannot be
determined and now I wait til they are sure all swelling is gone. 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. Of course, 20 of it is back now. I still have
problems with my neck and tightness. And I do tend to dribble food or drink
because of lip.
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