Gruen Von Behrens (May 14, 1977 - September 8, 2015) is an American motivational speaker and victim of oral cancer caused by smokeless tobacco. After diagnosis and for some treatments, it becomes nationally recognized to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco smoke use. She is the national spokesperson for the American Oral Health Tobacco Education Program and participates in tobacco awareness campaigns, such as the Campaign for Smoking Children and Truth-Based Campaigns.
As part of his efforts, he spoke to high school and junior high school children in all 50 US states and 10 provinces in Canada. In 2010, he testified before the US Senate hearing about the dangers of tobacco in professional sports.
Von Behrens died of mouth cancer at the age of 38 years.
Video Gruen Von Behrens
Early life and education
Von Behrens was born on May 14, 1977, in Mattoon, Illinois, to Tina (Zike) Von Behrens. He grew up in the small town of Stewardson, Illinois. He graduated from Stewardson-Strasburg High School in 1995 and then studied at Lake Land College in Mattoon. In his youth, Von Behrens played baseball and wanted to finally play at the college level. As a teenager, Von Behrens hit.400 for Stewardson-Strasburg High School Comet and wanted to play for the Chicago Cubs. Ryne Sandberg is her hero. At the age of 17, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. His fight with cancer forced him to give up his dream of becoming a major league baseball player.
Maps Gruen Von Behrens
Personal life
Von Behrens's cancer suffered a remission when he was 23 years old. He then married Sara M. Pruemer on April 26, 2008. They have two daughters and continue to live in Stewardson, Illinois.
Public life
Von Behrens is a motivational speaker who devotes part of his life to raising awareness of the dangers of using smokeless tobacco. He traveled throughout the United States working as a national spokesperson for the National Tobacco Education Program Spitting Oral Health America. As part of his efforts, he spoke to high school and junior high school children in 50 states and 10 provinces in Canada. In 2010, he testified before the US Senate hearing about the dangers of tobacco in professional sports. In 2012, Von Behrens testified at the Maryland legislature, urging lawmakers to increase tobacco taxes on smokeless cigar and tobacco by up to 70%, the same rate as the tax rate on cigarettes. He also participated in tobacco awareness campaigns, such as the Campaign for Smoking Children and Truth-Based Campaigns.
Health and death
Von Behrens began immersing himself at the age of 13 and was diagnosed with oral cancer at age 17. Von Behrens says cancer begins as a white dot, the size of a pinpoint, on the side of his tongue. He said he did not think twice because of unusual white spots among chewing tobacco users. But it's not lost. In one interview, he was quoted as saying that one day, his tongue was actually split in two because the cancer was inside the tongue and then dividing it.
He then had more than 40 surgeries on his face, neck, and mouth, radiation treatments and chemotherapy. The doctor raised half of his tongue and jaw muscles. They also took half of his neck muscles. The doctor takes a healthy part of his skin and transplants it into his face and neck. Because of the radiation treatment, all his teeth were removed, and by the age of 19, he had to start using dentures. Her lower jaw was replaced with a fibular bone from her lower leg. He was left badly damaged by surgery. After a long battle with mouth cancer, Von Behrens died at his home in Stewardson, Illinois, on September 8, 2015, at the age of 38.
References
External links
- Media related to Gruen Von Behrens on Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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