Yes, we’ve all seen it. Someone comes down with cancer and the person hearing the news says, “Did they smoke?” Because, you know, in a world that’s a goddamned chemical cocktail, there couldn’t possibly be any other reason.
Of course, it’s all about convincing yourself it wasn’t random and it won’t happen to you.
My entire maternal family smoked. My grandfather, grandmother, mother, all of whom I lived with as a child. The only person who got cancer was the only non-smoker, my mother’s sister, who got lymphoma. She was also the healthiest eater. My grandfather, who smoked a pack a day, lived to be 91 years old before he got cancer. He walked at least a mile outside every day of his life.