Oral cancer is the largest group of the subset of cancers which fall into the
head and neck cancer category. It has multiple etiologies including tobacco and alcohol
use. Alcohol seems to increase the odds for a malignancy to form in tobacco users.
Sigmund Freud displayed a fervent addiction to tobacco. By Freudʼs own admission he
was addicted to nicotine and was known to smoke twenty cigars per day. Freud
documented in letters his desire to smoke cigars throughout his ordeal with oral cancer.
A brief review of oral cancer will be discussed and details of Freudʼs struggle with the
disease will be analyzed in this chapter.
Keywords: Alcohol, Anna Freud, biopsies, cancer surgery, cigars, electrocautery,
graft, oral cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma, prosthesis, resection, tobacco.