Woman's love of potato chips leads to early throat cancer diagnosis



MARYSVILLE, Washington — A Washington woman discovered she had a cancerous tumor in her left tonsil, and she says she has a potato chip to thank for saving her life.

Kristine Moore loves Ruffles potato chips, so much so that she claims to have eaten them every day for the past 20 years. In February, she was getting her daily chip fix when a sharp piece poked her tonsils, KIRO 7 News reported.

Moore didn't think anything of it until the next day when she felt like she was coming down with a cold. The doctor tested her for strep and it came back negative. Her tonsil didn't look right, though, so they took a biopsy.

The results came back abnormal, and after a closer look she found out she had a cancerous tumor growing on her tonsil.

Moore said doctors found squamous cell carcinoma, which is most likely caused by years of smoking, KIRO7 News reported.

"The potato chip was a blessing in disguise," Moore told KIRO 7 News. "I probably wouldn't have found out another year."

Moore said she has since quit smoking, but will continue to eat her daily Ruffles potato chips.

"I know I shouldn't eat this many, but I love them," Moore told KIRO 7 News.

Moore is scheduled to start her chemotherapy treatment in a few weeks, according to KIRO 7 News.