Hi; I'm 53 and have had GT since I was in my twenties. Approximately 4 years ago, I found a cure. It works GREAT for me. I posted on another GT forum at Gardenweb and can't find it, so now I'm posting here. First, GT can be caused by a number of factors. I believe mine is all the dental work I've had done. I think I may have an underlying allergic reaction to all my dental work. B vitamins, zinc, and candida cures didn't do a thing for me. Just like many people on this forum, I took it upon myself to look for a cure. I found one medical report of GT being treated sucessfully with a topical solution of Retin-A. This is a liquid version, not the gel or cream. Although in the study I read (Google geographic tongue and retin A and you should pull up the name of the researcher and the journal it was published in), the strength they used was 0.10%, the strength I used was 0.05%. I apply it twice a day with a q-tip and then spit it out. Depending on the severity of the outbreak, it always clears up within 3-5 days. The first time I tried this treatment, my tongue felt smoother then I could ever remember it feeling. It's amazing. The last time I went in for a refill (the small bottle I get lasts me about 6 months), I was told the manufacturer had stopped producing it. Imagine how I felt. The next time I had an outbreak, I tried the gel and it didn't work. Eventually, I had the thought to try a compounding pharmacy. Hooray, they said they could make it. 3 to 5 days later, my tongue was perfectly smooth. OK, here's the downside. A 30 ml. bottle cost me close to $100. As the bottle lasts me 6 months, that's about $16 per month. I don't have insurance, but this treatment works so good and my tongue feels and looks so good, for me it's worth it. I can't believe I'm talking about how good my tongue looks, but it was embarassing to have someone make a comment about how my tongue looked when I was talking. The other thing is oral Retin-A is contraindicated during pregnancy. I'm a guy, so this one doesn't apply to me. This treatment works by speeding up the rate of cell division(this same way it works on the skin). I got the prescription for this from my dentist, although I suppose an MD could do the same thing. I hope this helps some people. Waking up with those white circles on my tongue and having it so sensitive to acidic foods and cofffee and chocolate was really annoying. So was having the sores move all over my tongue.

I'm sorry, I think those were based on two year survival rates or some such like that, and thats all cancers but small cell lung averaged, not all types of cancers individually, and they are sure the hell more accurate than 3%. P.S. (not post script ya rum dum)Tumors are aggregations of cells, in some cases the pressure and contact inhibition hormones that result from a growth can spur cancer on, cancer is more likely in sites of injury. I'm not sure how much anatomy you have but inside of the body there aren't many positions that aren't life threatening. Cut off the blood flow or ICF flow or grow a hole through to the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, pancreas, bladder, spleen, spinal col;umn, brain or GI tract and you die. Cancer cells reproduce and form tumors, they metastasize and spread tumors to other areas, in the end it is the tumors that kill you. Yes Chemo doesn't work on all cancers, it works by making the body a lousy place to live and some cancers are tougher than we are, but it does kill many types of cancer cells, most are fast growing and that is their vulnerability. You need to learn a little bit about the physiology behind cancer before you make claims like that, Personally I am a cellular and molecular biology buff, and I have grown cancer cells in vitro and in organisms, and you \\sir haven't got a clue what you are talking about. Why are you so sure that Ty Bollinger isn't talking out his ass?

The homemade solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)is not as effective as commercial solutions of potassium bicarbonate, such as Kaligreen. Among "natural" or organic sprays for blackspot, the two best are probably horticultural oil and micronized sulfur. Neither one is as good as the synthetic Bayer spray mentioned above by Buford, but they may be sufficient in your garden, the only way to tell is to try them. Buford is right about pruners and blackspot. When conditions are right, blackspot will come and cleaning your pruners won't help. There are two relatively new organic sprays for blackspot on the market, Serenade and Bayers Natria Disease Control, which contain a strain of bacillus subtilis, a bacteria which is supposed to control blackspot. I plan to try the Natria spray this season.

Thanks.