Originally Posted by
BluesDawg
I won't argue with the first statement. The second comes as a relief. The third is simply not true and the fourth makes no sense as I clearly stated that I would not be smoking.
Are you an oncologist or a medical researcher? Interesting that you have such certain knowledge of things that experts can only discuss in terms of statistical correlation and possibility. It is certainly possible that the fairly small amount of cigarette smoking I did so long ago or the drinking caused my throat cancer. It is also possible that those things did not and that one or more of any number of other things caused it. The very minor amount of cigar smoking I did has an extremely low chance of being a factor.
Whatever caused it, I had it. Knowing what caused it won't change that fact. While the statistics may not provide good answers as to what caused an individual occurrence of cancer, it does tell us what things to avoid to decrease the likelihood of getting cancer. Smoking cigarettes is definitely one of those things to avoid as is heavy drinking, excessive eating and many other things. As far as I know, going online and pretending to know things that you don't know is not a significant cause of cancer, so you can be glad of that. Have a great life.
I apologize for the somewhat tactless posts above, it was not my intention to offend you and the very close relationship you have developed with the men and or women who have saved your life. You clearly have gone through a lot and are to be congratulated on the lifestyle you now embrace.
I have taken care of, operated on and saved the lives of many hundreds of cancer patients as a general surgeon for the past 25 years. I do, as a result, know a fair amount about cancer of the throat and its causative factors.
Let me suggest to you that no one questions the relationship of alcohol and tobacco use in the
cause of throat cancer. Remove these two causative factors and the physicians who specialize in the treatment of these cancers would find themselves out of work.
As a physician I would never blame a patient of mine for his or her disease by the choices they have made. Akin to rubbing salt in an open wound. Nor would I ever ever suggest that tobacco use, in any amount was ok. It is not. I literally can not recall a single patient of mine with lung cancer, esophageal cancer or throat cancer that was not a smoker, or in the case of esophageal cancer, a smoker and drinker. I know that their out there, but rarer than hens teeth in my experience.
And I agree, knowing what caused it will not change the fact that you had it. But a perspective that suggests that perhaps 4 or 5 cigars a year are harmless endorses an activity that kills.
So good luck and riding to a fellow over 50 cyclist that also happens to love the harmonica. I suspect our similarities are far greater that our differences... but thats another thread .