There are two conflicting old sayings: "Ignorance is bliss" and "Knowledge is power." Usually both are a mixed bag. Wanting some knowledge, I found an oral cancer support site online.
It was not supportive. It was terrifying.
First were the statistics, which I mentioned previously. One-year survival: 85%. Sounds good, right? Five-year survival: 59%. Not so good, but still better than 50-50. Ten-year survival: 47%. Okay, not liking that one. I'd like to live to older than 68, thanks.
Then I investigate the chat groups, and found one woman who has survived oral cancer not once, but four times. The catch? She doesn't have any tongue left. They had to cut away a bit more each time. On that note, I exited the site and deleted it from favorites. That was honestly more than I needed to know.
And in the words of Han Solo in Star Wars, episode V (yes, I'm a nerd): "Never tell me the odds."
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