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Chew Tobacco Kills : The Sean Marsee Story     Ten months after being diagnosed with oral cancer, Sean Marsee, a track star from Ada, Oklahoma's Talihina High School died, a few months before his 19th birthday. Sean Marsee in healthy days. In the spring of Sean Marsee's senior year of high school, he was headed for the state track finals, graduation, and an exciting life. Something was bothering him, though. He had an inch-wide red sore with a hard white center on his tongue. Sean's mom, a registered nurse, took one look at the sore and knew they had trouble. At age 12, Sean began using smokeless chewing tobacco. Lots of the other guys on his track team used chew, and even the team's coach didn't say anything about it one way or the other. He had seen plenty of professional athletes dipping tobacco and promoting it. Would a pro athlete use smokeless tobacco if it were going to harm his health? Sean's mom didn't see it that way. She knew from her medical training that smokeless tobacco was at least as harmful to users as cigarettes. She was furious at his new habit, but nothing she could say or do over the years convinced Sean to quit. By the time he was eighteen, he was using a can of tobacco every day and a half. Sean went to see a throat specialist, Dr. Carl Hook, who recommended a biopsy of the sore in Sean's mouth to check for cancerous cells. Sean could hardly believe what was happening to him. He was only 18 years old and in top physical condition, running five miles a day and lifting weights. He didn't drink or smoke cigarettes. Even though his mother had warned him many times, Sean said, I didn't know snuff could be that bad for you." In fact, his six-year habit was so bad that Dr. Hook had to remove part of his tongue right away. The surgery could only wait a few days, until after the state track meet. During the May 16th surgery, Dr. Hook found that Sean's illness was even worse than he had thought. More of the tongue had to be removed than he had planned. The biopsy of the sore (now known to be a tumor) had revealed cancer. Sean would have to undergo radiation for the cancer in addition to the oral surgery. Even before the radiation began, an examination revealed that one of the lymph nodes in Sean's neck was swollen. It looked as if the cancer had spread beyond Sean's mouth. The lymph node would have to be removed. In fact, Dr. Hood believed that Sean's lower right jaw, all of the lymph nodes in his neck, and all of the muscles and blood vessels (except the artery) on the right side of his neck needed to be removed. It was tough for Sean to decide whether or not to have such a radical surgery. It may or may not save his life, and it would certainly ruin his good looks. Like any teenager, Sean had always taken great care with his appearance. Because he was over 18, he had to make the decision himself. His mother couldn't make it for him. Finally, he decided to have Dr. Hook take the nodes, blood vessels, and muscles, but to leave the jawbone. On June 20th Dr. Hook performed the eight-hour surgery. While Sean was making the toughest decisions of his life, his school was honoring him as outstanding athlete of the year. The assistant and head track coaches brought the plaque to Sean at home, where he was recovering from surgery. Even with his jawbone intact, Sean's appearance was greatly changed. The surgery had left him scarred from the bottom of his right ear to the top of his chest. Sean's attitude was great, however. The surgery was followed by five weeks of difficult radiation therapy, but Dr. Hook found his spirits to be high. Sean was young and strong. Just maybe he could pull through after all. That was August. By October Sean was having severe headaches. The headaches led to a CAT scan, which revealed new cancer. One area of malignancy spread down his back, the other was concentrated at the base of his brain. His only hope was more radical surgery and more radiation. In a November surgery, his jawbone and large amounts of tissue from around his head and neck were removed. In recovery, Sean breathed through a tube, was fed through another tube, had several drains in his wounds, and tubes in his arms. Though he couldn't speak at that time, his mother could see his agony. Sean was home for Christmas, and his positive attitude was back. In January, he found lumps in his left cheek. The new biopsy showed more cancer. For the first time in his long ordeal, Sean cried when he got this news, though he insisted to his mother that he was going to be fine. Soon, the family had to face the fact that Sean would soon die. In the weeks leading up to his death, Sean made it clear that he wanted his story told. He believed that young people didn't understand the addictiveness and dangers of snuff. Even after all he had been through, he said, he still craved the nicotine in smokeless tobacco. He told his mother, I catch myself thinking, I'll just reach over and have a dip.'" Sean wanted teens, especially young athletes, to see what his habit had done to his healthy good looks. Sean told his mother that there must be a reason that God decided not to save him. She feels it was to show other kids just how dangerous smokeless tobacco is and to (keep) other kids from dying." One of Sean's last messages was written in pencil, because he could no longer speak. He wrote, "Don't dip snuff." On the morning of February 25th, Sean smiled weakly at his sister and pointed toward heaven. Later that morning, Sean Marsee died. Compiled using photos and facts from an October 1985 Reader's Digest article by Jack Fincher, entitled "Sean Marsee's Smokeless Death," located at pages 107 through 112.

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