Periodontitis is a chronic gum disease that progresses very slowly. It can lead to bone loss around affected teeth.

Researchers from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in New York say that those with gum disease have a higher risk of developing tongue cancer. The researchers compared 51 men diagnosed with tongue cancer to 54 cancer free men.

They reported that each millimeter reduction in bone loss was associated with a 5 fold rise in risk of tongue cancer. Seeing bone loss on the x-rays indicates the gum disease has existed for decades, making it clear that periodontitis preceded the cancer diagnosis, and not the other way around.

However unintentional she says it has all been when it comes to the sultry and seductive persona that oozes sexuality through the television screen during her cooking shows, How to be a Domestic Goddess author Nigella Lawson has made a career out of making food sexy and the act of food consumption sensual. It is part of her not-always-so-subtle coy kitchen charm.

But if we believe her life to be as silky smooth and decadent as warm cream flowing over a morning bowl of juicy plump strawberries, and equally as charmed as she is charming, we would be mistaken. Yes, she is remarried to multi-millionaire, ad man and art dealer Charles Saatchi, but she is also the widow of journalist and writer John Diamond, who died of tongue cancer five years ago, leaving her suddenly mother and father to their two children, Cosima and Bruno.

A decade earlier, Lawson's mother had died of liver cancer. Her sister Thomasina died in her 30s of breast cancer. Cancer changes people. It is unavoidable, and the change can take many forms. For Nigella, who in the public eye has taken criticism for her ample figure and lack of concern for the fat content of food, has an almost unreasonable fear about thinness. After watching three family members waste away and die from cancer, she sees thin as a sign of illness.

"So even though I mind it when I put on weight I have a visual memory of seeing those people become skin and bone, and that gives me a slight reality check," explains Lawson. In watching her cooking show Nigella Bites, she came through as warm, down-to-earth, without a care for pretentious protocol or rules for the sake of rules. It is the way she cooks, and I get the feeling it is the way she lives. Cancer changes every person it touches and shapes perspectives about what is truly important in life. Being comfortable and enjoying yourself, including the food you eat, is a good recipe for life. A recipe Nigella seems to dish up with ease.

Nigella Lawson is Food Network's newest host in Nigella Feasts. On January 7, the theme of the show will be Feel Good Food featuring Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad, a Vietnamese Prawn and Glass Noodle Salad, a colorful Antioxidant Fruit Salad, and a Syllabubbed Yogurt. Yum.

From Blabbermouth: Eddie Van Halen has developed a cure for cancer. Yep. Is he telling anyone what the cure is? Nope. Did smoking cause his two bouts of oral cancer? According to Eddie Van Halen, smoking did not cause his cancer, and he still smokes. What caused his cancer? He speculates it might have been the metal guitar pick he used.

This story comes from Launch Radio Networks, who reported on the Sirius Satellite Radio conversation Eddie Van Halen had with Howard Stern last Friday. I didn't hear the radio program, as my tolerance for Stern is low, but I do regret I missed this conversation.

I feel as if some significant portion of the conversation got left out in the retelling of the event -- but if not -- what do you mean you have a cure for cancer but you are not telling anyone? Metal guitar pick? Eddie, please stop talking about cancer. I am a huge fan but this sounds utterly nonsensical.

Anyone else listen to this call-in from Eddie Van Halen to the Howard Stern Show?

In an earlier blog post on June 8 about oral cancer, I stated that I would be making another report on an upcoming visit to the dentist. Yesterday afternoon I had my appointment with Virginia Kirkland, D.M.D., M.S. in Alpharetta, GA that was set up by Zila Pharmaceuticals for me to have a ViziLite exam for oral cancer. Dr Kirkland and her staff were very professional, courteous, and thorough. I sat down with Dr Kirkland and got a little educational background on how ways to do early detection of oral cancer have improved with Vizilite and the North Point Periodontics office with Dr Kirkland and Dr Allen French offers this easy exam to all of their patients as part of a yearly exam and early detection program.

As is the case with most cancers, age is the primary risk factor for oral cancer.  Approximately 90% of oral cancer victims are age 40 and older, recent studies indicate that increasingly, patients younger than age 40 are being diagnosed with oral cancer. Though  tobacco and alcohol use are the primary lifestyle risk factors that contribute to the development of  oral cancer, 27% of oral cancer victims do not use tobacco or alcohol, and have no lifestyle risk factors. Oral cancer affects men more than women, 2:1, but oral cancer in women is on the rise nationwide. Many reports suggest that head and neck cancer, particular tongue cancer, is increasing among young adults.

The test took about 5 minutes and it involved no pain or discomfort. The first step is to rinse your mouth with a solution for one minute. The solution itself tasted a little like a raspberry vinaigrette but was not anything bad. That solution dries the cells in your mouth making it easier for the Vizilite to detect any abnormal cells that might develop into oral cancer. Dr Kirkland moved the little plastic glow wand throughout my mouth and around my gums, under my lips and around my tongue. Then she followed it up with the standard procedure of feeling around in my mouth and gum area and neck area. The experience was quick, educational, and did not involve any discomfort.

Ask your health care provider about receiving a quick and painless exam that could help save your life and make it a part of your yearly health exam. Oh and by the way, I had no signs of cancer cells and had a 100% clean exam. Well except for one cavity area.

Bureaucratic silliness or grinchy meanspiritedness? Here's the facts. In 2003, Ronald Michalowicz, a fire inspector for the village of Bedford Park, was diagnosed with tongue cancer. He was not given great odds on surviving his cancer. He kept working while going through chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was rough -- he lost 107 pounds.

In 2004, at the end of chemotherapy, but before radiation treatment began, he finally took a leave of absence from a job he had worked 28 years. The community cared about one of its own enough to raise $25,000 dollars to help Michalowicz with medical and living expenses. Cancer is expensive.

Miraculously, he beat the odds and his cancer went into remission. When he went back to work, he was fired. Why? According to village officials, he had accepted monetary contributions from the community in violation of the Illinois Gift Ban Act and village code prohibiting employees from soliciting gifts that could affect their decision-making. He hadn't asked anyone for money. A building inspector, Steve Edwards, cleared a form letter with the mayor at the time, Ronald Robison, to ask for contributions on behalf of Michalowicz. There is a new mayor now. Michalowicz only has one more year to work before he is eligible for retirement. What's really going on? You decide.