The Bobcat Nation

I have always been one who believes in making your own choices regarding smoking, chewing or going to a tanning salon. I just got back from Salt Lake City where my mother is recovering from throat cancer surgery because of 45 years of smoking. Tell ya what, after seeing what those people and their families go through it ain't worth it!!! Pretty ugly when they have to take half your head off to hopefully get the tumor, rebuild your tung from tendons in your arm, the process of getting your lungs cleared out through a trake, learning how to speak let a lone swallow and the pain. After all that, now a patient had to go through kemo and/or radiation treatment. I was talking to one of the nurses who is in her late 20's and she was telling me that they are seeing a huge increase in skin cancer patients who are in their early to mid 20's because of tanning beds. It doesn't matter if your skin is naturally dark or light.

Anyways, if you do one, two or all three of these things, just think about it alittle.

Best wishes to your Mom, Canyon.

CC,

Sorry to hear that. Our thoughts are with you and your family.

Thank you for posting that, canyoncat. Smoking killed my grandpa way too young about 20 years ago, and I really miss having him around still today (coolest guy I've ever met). Best wishes for your mother, and I hope everyone who smokes gives your post a read and gives it a lot of thought.

Bay Area Cat wrote: (coolest guy I've ever met).

Dont lie BAC....................

AlphaGriz1 wrote:

Bay Area Cat wrote: (coolest guy I've ever met).

Dont lie BAC....................

Try not to be a D-Bag all the time Alpha.

Sorry to hear about your mom Canyon, I hope she recovers fully and quickly!

I tanned in tanning beds in high school and college plus had regular sunburns as a young girl, I'm sure I'll end up with skin cancer at some point. I no longer use tanning beds though, I learned in college that the visible light in the sun actually repairs some of the damage that the UV light does (UV light actually mixes up DNA and visible light re-aligns them) so I quit tanning beds then. More recently I've read that tanning beds get to a much deeper layer than the sun can so the damage done is much worse. Not the sun is great for you, but I still love that!!

AlphaGriz1 wrote:

Bay Area Cat wrote: (coolest guy I've ever met).

Dont lie BAC....................

Not a good topic for this, Alpha.

Sorry to hear about your mom, canyon. Here's hoping for the best. My mother smoked like a chimney all the while we grew up. My sister and I hated growing up in a house filled with cig smoke. Any chance we could get, we would throw her cigs in the garbage, down the toilet, bury them in the garden, etc. Unfortunately, all that would do is get her mad and make her buy more. And we were pretty dirt poor growing up, so that's the last thing she needed to be spending money on.

When I grew up, left home, and started a family, I finally had the weapon I needed to get her to quit. When my wife and I became pregnant with our first child, I calmly explained to my mom that as long as she continued smoking, she would not be allowed to be a part of her grand-daughter's life; the choice was hers. When I was a kid, I didn't have a say as to growing up around second-hand smoke, but I sure as hell could make sure that my kids wouldn't have to go through it. She knew I was dead serious, after all the antics I pulled growing up trying to get her to stop. Thankfully, my mother quit cold turkey. That was 13 years ago, and she hasn't had a puff since. Funny, 'cause now she can't stand to be around someone who is smoking. She has apologized to me on several occasions for subjecting my sister and I to that crap, and has thanked me for never giving up on her.

Thanks for all the kind words!!! Had a little set back last night, but overall things are looking pretty good and she should be home fairly soon.

Also, don't worry about Alpha, he brings a lighter side to things that makes me chuckle.

Sorry to hear that canyon. I hav a buddy that went through throat cancer surgery down there probably 7 or 8 years ago, and he is doing great. Has a clean bill of health, other than the occasional kidney stone. They have some good paople in that hospital. Hope everything turns out for the best.