Cigar Smoking Cancerous
Greed is good? Cigars and throat cancer
Greed is good? Cigars and throat cancer
Michael Douglas has revealed he was diagnosed with cervical cancer stage 4. He admits that for most of his adult life he was a great smoker and drinker, two behaviors that have been linked to increased risk of oral cancer. This is a very serious diagnosis and is not surprising its doctors are treating aggressively with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
According to the American Cancer Society's end to 38,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral and throat cancer this year. It causes over 8,000 deaths annually in the United States. The mortality rate for oropharyngeal cancer is so high, partly because of the difficulty in early detection. It can be painless and go unnoticed with few physical changes until the disease is fairly Advanced.
Cigar smoking has a long history of being associated with wealth and success (think of the character of Douglas M. Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street). But maybe cigars also known to be more toxic than cigarette smoke. The large size of most cigars, tobacco and requires more time to smoke resulting in greater exposure to many toxic compounds (Including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, ammonia, cadmium and other substances).
90% of patients with oral cancer use tobacco. Diagnosis increases with the amount and duration of smoking. cigarette and cigar smoking can cause cancer of the oral cavity (lips, tongue, mouth and throat), larynx (voice box), esophagus and lung. Men are twice as likely to develop cancers of the mouth. But it could be longer due to lifestyle choices such as drinking and smoking.
George Karl, head coach for the Denver Nuggets was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil back in February 2009. There was also fighting with multiple sets of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He was recently seen at the ESPY ceremony in July Consultant 40 pounds thinner.
In the case of Mr. Douglas, he claims to have suffered a sore throat for a while. "I had a very sore throat …. and I went through a litany of doctors and tests and they found nothing, "he said on the David Letterman Show. Physicians practiced a biopsy and discovered a tumor in stage 4 in the back of his throat. His doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
To More on oropharyngeal cancer:
American Cancer Society
1-800-ACS-2345
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp
National Cancer Institute
1-800-4-CANCER
http://www.cancer.gov/
Oral Cancer Foundation
949-646-8000
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/
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Cigar Smoking 101
