Meg Wolff survived cancer -- twice. First she had bone cancer and lost her leg to the disease. Then she had breast cancer and was given little hope from doctors who thought traditional treatment could not save her. Maybe it couldn't. But Wolff found something that did save her -- a macrobiotic diet.

Life is all about balance, says Wolff who authors a website rich in content about the connection between diet and a healthy lifestyle. She offers up-to-date information on her blog, links to recipes and resources, a calendar of events, and a look at her very own book, titled, Becoming Whole, The Story of My Complete Recovery from Breast Cancer.

Wolff says that by changing her diet, she has changed her destiny. She is alive and well and thriving. Give her a visit and see for yourself.

Jill Sklar was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a debilitating gastrointestinal condition, when she was twenty. Jill set out to investigate how others who have survived the diagnosis and treatment of a chronic life altering illness perceived themselves -- and the effect of that illness on their life.

The Five Gifts of Illness: A Reconsideration is the result of Jill's investigation. She interviewed over one hundred individuals who had suffered a wide variety of illnesses. Sklar discovered that five gifts emerged as common denominators among the survivors. Those five gifts form the heart of this book.

You can purchase the book on amazon.com.

Kristina Collins wrote on August 5 about the book Crazy Sexy Cancer. She bought it for a breast cancer survivor friend and called it "a practical (and funny) survival guide with insights of other young women with cancer." There's even a Crazy Sexy Cancer website, she wrote. And a documentary too. Here's some scoop on the documentary:

The upbeat documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer airs on Wednesday, August 29 at 9:00 PM on TLC. It's the story of Kris Carr, actress and photographer -- now author and filmmaker too -- who in 2003 at the age of 31 was diagnosed with a rare and incurable stage 4 cancer. Weeks after her diagnosis, she began documenting her journey. It's a crazy sexy cancer story. So tune in if you're up for a good dose of inspiration and humor. Check out the seven-minute movie trailer here (click on "trailer"). And take a peek at Carr's blog here.

"I just don't want to die," says Carr. "I will do whatever it takes, whatever it takes." Her documentary is proof of that.

I came home from Tucson's Canyon Ranch with a book called What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better. Written by Dan Baker, Ph.D. and Director of Canyon Ranch's Life Enhancement Program, this cheery yellow paperback dispels myths -- did you know money doesn't really buy happiness -- and outlines happiness traps we all fall into now and then -- ever found yourself trying to live up to the saying, "People can be just about as happy as they make up their minds to be?" That's a trap.

Most people have a narrow definition of happiness, says Baker. Happiness is not just being in a good mood most of the time or experiencing the emotion of joy. It's a biochemical condition, a way of life -- an overriding outlook characterized by optimism, courage, love, and fulfillment. Happiness doesn't change every time our life situations change. Happiness is nothing less than cherishing every day.

Baker, one of the original developers of Canyon Ranch, teaches us throughout the pages of his book how to be happy -- really happy. Want to get in on the secret? Take a peek at an excerpt from What People Know right here. This book might be just what you need.

Thanks Canyon Ranch for sending me home with this inspiring book.

She's the guru on breast cancer, the woman who writes the continually updated breast cancer bible. She's Dr. Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, and in the May/June 2007 issue of MAMM magazine, she shares some of her latest thoughts.

On milk ducts

Dr. Love says all breast cancer begins in the milk ducts. If we want to get rid of breast cancer, she says, we need to understand where it starts. Until recently, we weren't able to do that. Now, doctors can numb the nipple, thread a catheter into a milk duct and sample the fluid, cells, carcinogens, and hormones. By looking at the location where cancer develops, there's the potential to find out how it started and how to prevent it. In March, Dr. Love's Research Foundation sponsored a conference on this topic.

On MRI

Dr. Love is not a big fan of MRI. It's overly sensitive and finds everything -- most of which is not cancer, she says. MRI leads women on wild goose chases so Dr. Love likes to reserve this test for women at high-risk.

Author Leah Hager Cohen says her blog is inspired by her mother, for at least two reasons. One: it is because of her mom that she's a writer. "She has seen me for a writer my whole life, ever since I could make up stories and dictate them to her," says Cohen. Two: her mom is fighting ovarian cancer, has been since April 2006 when she was 62. Cohen's blog -- Love As a Found Object -- is for her mom and about her mom. It is quite a blog.

In an entry written in September 2006, Cohen shares:

My mother is perhaps the most energetic person I know, and my children, who collectively run a close second, have grown accustomed to having her set the pace when she is around. She's the one who persuaded me, six years ago, that the kids and I did not need a dining room nearly so much as we needed a "project room." She usually arrives for visits bearing the raw materials and mental blueprint for some art or engineering project into which she and the kids then plunge together. Even though we've all had months to get used to her cancer, her tiredness still seems strange, as does the chemo-haze from which she regards us more quietly than is her wont. She seems almost an imposter in this muffled state, so accustomed are we to having her lead us on capers and jaunts through real and metaphorical woods.

Have you been thinking about lung cancer and longing for the most reliable facts and figures on this number one cancer killer? If so, you're in luck because the National Lung Cancer Partnership has just released a new and free resource called Living With a Diagnosis of Lung Cancer. The booklet features basic questions about what a lung cancer diagnosis means.

"When people hear the words, 'You have lung cancer,' their mind starts racing, and they hear or remember very little of what comes next," said Dr. Joan Schiller, M.D., president of the National Lung Cancer Partnership. "Even in this age of the Internet with information at your fingertips, patients and their families often don't know what to ask or are intimidated about doing so. This booklet was designed to be an easy-to-read resource for many of the initial questions people might have, from what kinds of doctors will be treating you to whether or not a clinical trial is right for you."

Patients can access this resource online, where other links to additional resources are available.

I was at the book store yesterday and picked up a cool book for my friend and fellow breast cancer survivor Deb, her birthday is this week.

The book is titled Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, a practical (and funny) survival guide with insights of other young women with cancer. Sheryl Crow writes the forward for the book!

I learned that they have a website and also a documentary called Crazy Sexy Cancer, an uplifting documentary about a young woman looking for a cure and finding her life.

In 2003, 31-year-old actress/photographer Kris Carr was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer. Weeks later she began filming her story. Taking a seemingly tragic situation and turning it into a creative expression, Kris shares her inspirational story of survival with courage, strength, and lots of humor.

ABCs Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts has heart. You can read all about it in her article titled A Heart in the Right Place in the July 2007 issue of Ladies' Home Journal -- and her book From the Heart. She writes about her job, about how she was never the most brilliant person to work alongside Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer but how she tends to put herself in the position for things to happen.

"Often, the person who catches the break is the one standing there with her arms outstretched at the right moment," she says. There she was, arms outstretched. And here she is, high atop her career ladder.

Roberts also writes about her strong military family, her athletic nature -- she played basketball in high school and college -- and about facing her fears.

It is hard to know what to say to someone who has cancer. It's even harder if someone is in the process of dying from cancer. Reaching out can become big and complex and overwhelming. We fear not knowing what to say or what to do, or saying something that causes more pain.

In Anna Quindlen's novel, One True Thing, a novel about a mother's death from cancer, the main character narrates about how people stopped coming by to see them, calling, reaching out. The main character runs into one such friend of her mother's in the grocery store one day:

I could almost see the sentence forming in their mind before they could say it: "I've been meaning to stop by, but ..."...

When Mrs. Duane began to say that she'd been meaning to stop by, I looked into her clear blue eyes, the color of sky, wise and so aware of the duplicity of what she was saying that they darted away from my own, and without thinking I interrupted, "Then do it. Don't regret that you didn't. What she has is not catching."...

"No one has come to see my mother since the week before Christmas. She's lonely and she's sad and she thinks that everyone's forgotten her and all because it's too uncomfortable for anyone to deal with anything deeper than winter ski plans and shopping for dinner."

The next day Mrs. Duane called and asked if she could come over for lunch.

When in doubt, it's always better to reach out, even with just the smallest of gestures and even in the worst of circumstances.

I recently wrote about Jesse Gruman's book, "Aftershock -- What To Do When The Doctor Gives You -- Or Someone You Love -- A Devastating Diagnosis" as covered by Jane Brody of the NY Times. Brody continues her coverage this week, with more tips from Gruman.

First up, know your doctor. Gruman advises finding a specialist who is up-to-date on your disease and has lots of experience. She also recommends checking with the state medical board regarding any disciplines or malpractice suits against the physician and assessing any local information obtained from other patients and friends. Dr. Gruman also advises not to be surprised if the doctor cannot answer questions like, "Am I going to beat this disease?" or "How long can I go on like this?" Gruman notes that it is "difficult, if not irresponsible" for a doctor to guarantee certain outcomes.

Gruman also advises getting a second opinion and not worrying about insulting your current physician for doing so. Gruman suggests framing such a request as a desire, "to feel completely comfortable with the treatment you suggest" or even blaming someone else, such as your family for insisting on a second opinion.

Patients seek second opinions for many reasons, including the desire for more information, difficulty communicating with their current physician, dissatisfaction with how treatment is progressing or being told nothing more can be done. Dr. Gruman writes, "While it is true that many diseases cannot be cured, it is never true that there is nothing more to be done."

Jesse Gruman's book, "AfterShock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives You - or Someone You Love - a Devastating Diagnosis", is featured in a column by Jane Brody in the New York Times Health section this week.

Gruman, 53, is a survivor of four serious health crises: at age 20 she received a diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease, 10 years later one of cervical cancer, then five years ago came down with viral pericarditis (a serious infection of the heart's lining) and just three years ago was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Gruman offers much advice for those given a life-threatening diagnosis. For the first two days, she advises to slow down, yet don't act as if nothing is happening, take care of yourself in the meantime, and do what you need to do in regards to having friends and family around (or not).

Gruman advises not to give too much thought to what you might have done to cause the condition. Gruman points out that "the past is past and that the problem now is how to handle the future."

When the doctor's visits start picking up as treatment plans begin to take shape, Grubman advises bringing someone with you to doctor's appointments to write down what is said or even tape recording the sessions.

With each health crisis, Gruman says she was "stunned, then anguished" and astonished by "how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health."

Writer Jeph Lobe has been working through the stages of grief in the most recent issues of Marvel Comics. You see, Captain America has been gunned down. And his buddies -- Wolverine, the Avengers, Iron Man, and Spider-Man -- are battling with denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. The whole story will be revealed when the latest issue, Fallen Son, hits newsstands July 5th, the day after Independence Day.

Loeb, also an executive producer for NBC's Heroes, chose his storyline to represent current politics.

"Part of it grew out of the fact that we are a country that's at war, we are being perceived differently in the world," he says. "He wears the flag and he is assassinated -- it's impossible not to have it at least be a metaphor for the complications of present day."

In the top-selling book and DVD, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, Byrne proposes that individuals take control of their lives with the 'law of attraction'. According to a recent AP article, Byrne states, "The law of attraction says that like attracts like, and when you think and feel what you want to attract on the inside, the law will use people, circumstances and events to magnetize what you want to you, and magnetize you to it."

However, critics have gathered and some medical professionals say The Secret could lead to a blame-the-victim mentality.

In the AP article, one such critic is Dr. Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist in New York City. Dr. Saltz says she was especially troubled by a piece in the book about breast cancer, where a 'Secret' believer shares that her cancer was cured without any treatment by thinking positively and watching funny movies.

There is another dark side to this 'like attracts like' philosophy. If positive thoughts attract the positive, then negative thoughts attract the negative.

Attention cancer survivors: Do you want to inspire others with your story? Reader Anna Rubin (thanks for the tip, Anna!) e-mailed us with the following information. The American Cancer Society is putting together a new book called What Helped Get Me Through, which, in their words, "is a collection of first person accounts in which cancer survivors talk candidly about what helped them through the ordeal of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, offering practical advice and wisdom, from people who have walked down the long road of cancer and back to health."

If this appeals to you, please visit this link and fill out their questionnaire.

The book is set to be released in 2008, and I know I'll be picking one up. What about you?