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Speaker serves as example of tobacco dangers (with video) 

SHELBY - Instead of attending first period Friday morning, Crest High School students heard a first-hand account of the effects tobacco has had on one man's life.

"People take so much for granted every day," said Gruen Von Behrens to a gym full of students. "No matter how bad the hand you think God has dealt you in your life, somebody else is always a lot worse off."

Behrens, an Illinois native, began using spit tobacco at age 13. Four years later, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. He has since endured 34 surgeries and "hundreds of treatments" totaling more than $3 million in medical expenses.

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