"When and if the end comes, no one will approach it better than you," said Larry King to Tammy Faye Messner during a live television interview Thursday night.

Friday morning, the end arrived -- Tammy Faye lost her long and courageous battle with inoperable cancer. She was 65.

A Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, talk show host, reality show star, and former wife of disgraced televengalist Jim Bakker, Tammy Faye was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996. She defied all medical predictions after her disease spread to her lungs in 2004, and she lived on with an inspiring amount of grace and dignity. Weighing only 65 pounds and battling almost constant pain, she spoke with Larry King just days ago -- with both her trademark make-up and a smile on her face -- and she talked openly and candidly about her death. She didn't know when her time would come. But she was ready.

The end has come for Tammy Faye. Surely, no one approached it quite like her.

Former televangelist Tammy Faye Messner -- formerly Tammy Faye Bakker -- posted Tuesday on her website (service is currently unavailable) a message about her health.

Messner, 65, reports that doctors have stopped treating her cancer -- she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996 and announced in 2004 the disease had spread to her lungs.

"I am down weight-wise to 65 pounds, and look like a scarecrow," the Charlotte resident shared on her site. "I need God's miracle to swallow. I look at young people and wish with all my heart for just one day of 'feeling great.'"

Daily consumption of red meat increases the risk of breast cancer. Daily consumption of red meat doesn't increase the risk of breast cancer. Ahhh. Which one is it?

In a previous post, I cited research that supported the increased risk. And now I've come across something new.

Think about this:

A nutritionist from New Zealand is disputing research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, claiming that women who ate more than100g of meat each day had the highest risk of developing breast cancer.

Ohio State quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels is part of a coaching staff preparing to take on the University of Florida in the NCAA Football National Championship in Glendale, Arizona next week. It's a big game, with big stakes -- but it's just one match-up Daniels plans to tackle this year. He's also in the midst of a game with cancer -- a game he plans to win.

Daniels, a 64-year-old assistant to head coach Jim Tressel and contender for the Broyles Award, given January 16 to the nation's top assistant coach, was diagnosed with kidney cancer this past year shortly after suffering a heart attack and while mourning the death of his mother. Although it was a tough year, he still managed to make it through his 37th season as an assistant coach. He and his wife, Kathy, say it's been a hard road but a blessed one too.

"Cancer is a terrible disease," says Kathy. "But in a lot of ways, it's enriched our lives. It's not the burden a lot of people expect it to be. Maybe it's because we've been so fortunate to have football as a distraction."

The Buckeyes' 12-0 season -- complete with a Heisman Trophy victory for quarterback Troy Smith -- was quite a distraction for Daniels who was able to avoid chemotherapy and radiation and is faithfully taking a drug called Sutent to treat his malignant tumor. He takes a pill for 28 days, then takes 14 days off, and then begins again.

Medically, everything seems to be working out just fine for Daniels. His monthly check-ups continue to deliver good news, and he reports he has felt good, with just a bit of fatigue, for the entire season.

Now about that other game. Tune into the FOX network on Monday, January 8 at 8:15 PM -- and watch it all unfold.

When NC State basketball coach and ESPN broadcaster Jim Valvano was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma, he was told he had a year to live. During that last year of his life he became an advocate in raising cancer awareness by sharing his personal experience as someone facing life and death with cancer.

According to The V Foundation for Cancer Research website, which Valvano and ESPN founded in 1993, "He was not afraid to let others witness his weakening body or the tears that he shed when he spoke of his certain death during interviews and public appearances. He knew that his body would lose the battle against cancer, but his vibrant spirit was the gift that he would leave behind."

Valvano's message in the fight against cancer was "Don't Give Up ... Don't Ever Give Up!" The V Foundation for Cancer Research continues on in honor of his memory. The V Foundation has raised more than $50 million dollars and awarded research grants in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The foundation's major endeavor is the funding of grants and research, called V Scholars, for promising young scientists from the finest research facilities across the country who need early financial support.

The Jimmy V Foundation hosts a number of fundraising events throughout the year including the Jimmy V Celebrity Junior Golf Classic, V Foundation Wine Celebration and the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic. In addition, there are V Foundation License Plates, and Don't Give Up...Don't Ever Give Up!® wristbands.

Recently, the 2006 ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic, held at Lost Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley, California, raised $1.1 million dollars for The V Foundation.

One lucky couple was chosen -- from a pool of more than 450 couples who competed in ESPN's Marriage Madness competition -- as winner of the ultimate ESPN sports wedding. With listeners of the Mike & Mike in the Morning national TV and radio show as voters, Catherine and Jason West, now husband and wife, were married May 26, 2006 on ESPN. Noteworthy is the fact that both Catherine and Jason are die-hard University of Florida Gator fans -- they met at a Gator tailgating party and were engaged at Lake Alice, a popular outdoor spot on campus. The bride wore crystal Gator beadwork on her gown and the groom's tuxedo jacket was lined in Gator orange. The maid of honor wore a Gator blue dress and carried an orange bouquet. The wedding vows included the traditional messages of love, honor, and respect -- but some sports twists were sprinkled in too. The Wests took away a check for $20,000, compliments of hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, and they will soon head off on an all-expense paid sports-inspired honeymoon.

This wedding is inspired not just by sports.  It is also inspired by cancer survival. Catherine -- who became engaged on the one-year anniversary of her first breast cancer surgery -- is now in full cancer remission. And a $2,500 donation was made in the couple's name to the V Foundation, a cancer fund in memory of Jim Valvano, a former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN broadcaster. This is surely an event to remember.