Ever since Kay Yow returned from a 16-game leave of absence for cancer treatment, her North Carolina State women's basketball team has won 12 of their last 14 games. And now the Wolfpack is headed for the Sweet 16 -- after beating Baylor in overtime -- where the fourth-seeded team will play Connecticut on March 24 in Fresno.

This will be the first trip to the NCAA tournament in 16 years for Hall of Fame coach Yow who is battling breast cancer for the third time. First diagnosed with the disease in 1987, Yow had a recurrence during the 2004-05 season. And now this season too.

Yow, still enduring treatment and still working hard on the court, credits her team for their sweet victory.

"I know they want to win for me in that sense," she says. "I really am grateful and appreciate the fact that they do, but I think they're a real team. I think they can play with that kind of spirit every time they go out."

To read previous posts about coach Kay Yow, click here.

For women who have had a mammogram, now may be the perfect time to get in shape -- in Gainesville, Florida anyway. The Gainesville Curves is waiving all service fees for women who show proof of a mammogram and join this fitness center during the week of October 16.

Curves is the largest fitness franchise in the world -- with 9,500 locations worldwide -- dedicated to providing affordable exercise, weight loss, and nutrition programs for women. Curves is also dedicated -- in at least one city -- to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A month that can have a positive effect on the whole body.

Perhaps other locations are offering this same deal. If not, you might try to negotiate the discount at a location near you -- in the spirit of your own good health.

Chemotherapy is a good remedy for killing cancer cells -- and I hope every day that it did its job and killed all cancer cells that may have floated away from my original breast cancer tumor. But one not-so-good side effect of this good remedy is the beating that healthy cells take in the process of this life-saving treatment. It will be a red-letter day when chemotherapy can target only cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected. And this day may be a bit closer for patients in Taiwan who find they are in the early stages of relapse with nasopharynx cancer.

On Wednesday, National Taiwan University Hospital introduced a new high-tech laser procedure -- potassium-titanyl-phosphate or KPT -- to vaporize cancer cells. Doctors use a small endoscopic camera and easily manipulate the laser to precisely eliminate the cancer cells in the back of the nose and the soft roof of the mouth -- without harming healthy cells. The procedure takes roughly 90 minutes and requires a two-day stay in the hospital. This procedure should only be used in the early stages of relapse, though, and first-time cancer patients should still seek chemotherapy. And while those in later stages of relapse can still receive the treatment, it will only relieve discomfort without solving the problem.

To date, there have been 16 successful KPT treatments for this disease that about 1,000 people in Taiwan contract each year.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue said in a recent interview that she and her family fell to pieces upon hearing her diagnosis of breast cancer this past May. Since that time, she has had surgery and chemotherapy and she currently receives treatment to prevent a recurrence of the disease. And she is now picking up the pieces of her life and is rebounding from the once disbelief that her life would take a detour. Last week, she attended her first public appearance since her illness -- at Elton John's White Tie and Tiara ball -- and she is renaming her Showgirl tour, which was canceled after her cancer battle began. Now the Showgirl Homecoming Tour, Minogue is set to return to performing. Her concert promoter says she will take it slow -- to accommodate her off and on again fatigue -- but she will return with the vigor she is known for. Minogue says she feels like she has a new chance at life now. And she will talk all about it on July 16 when her interview is aired on Britain's Sky News.