The following post is one of a series of posts appearing Monday through Friday on The Cancer Blog. This feature -- Today, I am grateful -- allows me to share with readers my appreciation for all the treasures in my life, both big and small. In my post-cancer world, I find It healing for my soul to be mindful of the good in my life. It is my pleasure to share my gratitude with you.

For the past six and a half years, I've been a full-time, stay-at-home mom. It's my job, just like my husband has a job. In his job, he gets to actually leave the house alone, go to the bathroom all by himself, eat lunch in peace with other adults, and collect a paycheck each and every month. I get none of that. Still, I get a lot. I got to hold my babies all day, every day when they were teeny, tiny. I got to love and nurture them and observe their every move. I saw them walk and talk for the first time, eat solid food, grasp toys, and eventually, head off to school.

Both of my boys are in school now, so I am without them for about five hours each weekday. Still, I am a full-time mom. I wake them in the morning, feed them breakfast, pack their lunches and backpacks, head them in the direction of matched clothing, urge them to brush their teeth and put on their shoes and buckle up tight in the car. I drive them to their respective schools and return promptly at the end of the school day to pick them up. And then we spend the afternoons together. It's a great job. I wouldn't trade it for anything -- not even a big, fat paycheck.

Today, I am grateful I get to be a stay-at-home mommy.

Studies show that diets high in fiber and low in fat can help prevent cancer. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but tempeh is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. It has a higher content of protein, dietary fiber and vitamins compared to tofu. In the past five years tempeh has grown so much in popularity that it is now available in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets. Here is a simple way to prepare tempeh that both kids and adults love.

Vicki's Spicy Tempeh Soft Tacos
Serves 4

1 block tempeh crumbled
1/2 vegetable broth or water
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (can leave out if you don't want spicy)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cooked black beans or pinto beans drained
1 tomato chopped
handful chopped lettuce
grated hard soy cheese if you want vegan or cheddar if vegetarian
8 whole wheat tortillas

Recipe directions

Saute the tempeh in the olive oil on medium low heat for about 3 minutes. Add red pepper and onion and continue to saute for about 5 minutes more. Add the spices, 1/2 cup broth or water and the beans and cook for about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Serve in the tortillas with the chopped lettuce, tomato and cheese.

It's Father's Day. And all dads out there deserve a pat on the back, a sincere thank you, a celebration in their honor. But there's one group of dads to whom I'm giving special attention on this fine Sunday, June 17 -- dads with cancer.

Having been a mom with cancer, I know how parenting becomes doubly difficult when a life-threatening illness crowds into the picture. The usual mommy and daddy responsibilities are hard enough on their own. Add cancer and all sense of balance, control, and even joy can fly out the window.

Holding down the daddy fort while battling and surviving cancer is no small task. So let's honor some of the dads who manage this feat. Here are seven of them.

Gilda's Club Delaware Valley and the YSC Community Volunteer Group (CVG) of Greater Philadelphia proudly present a lecture: "Talking to Kids About Cancer."

When: Tuesday, June 26th from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Where: Gilda's Club Delaware Valley, 200 Kirk Road, Warminster, PA 18974

Children may be quiet, children may be outspoken, but all children have questions. We want to give them the best answers we can. Learn how to talk to kids about cancer, how to address the easy questions and the tough ones. Light refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to Cathy at 215-441-3290 ext. 115. For more information and driving directions, visit the Gilda's Club Delaware Valley website.

Norwegian researchers report that about 68 percent of patients who wish to have children manage to do so after successful treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The researchers studied both men and women survivors. They found that the type of treatment was significantly associated with successful parenthood. The highest probability was in patients treated with radiation only or with less damaging types of chemotherapy.

Dr. Kiserud told Reuters Health, "Information on fertility issues is important in clinical oncological practice, and fertility saving tasks should be discussed with patients at risk of post-treatment infertility. Females should be informed that both the treatment and their age at treatment influence their fertility potential."

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Or: Out of sight, out of mind? I think I like this one best, at least when it comes to snack time for my kids.

Our house was once stocked with sugary treats. It wasn't odd for us to have a bowl of M&Ms in our cupboard, Oreo cookies and fruit chews in the pantry, and a whole host of other not-so-healthy go-to items. Now we have none of it. And while my little boys occasionally search for their old demons, they mostly have adjusted well. They don't crave sweet things any more now that they're gone; they actually rarely mention them. Now I admit they do stake out houses that allow for sweet things when they get the chance but at home, they are content with an apple, a bowl of strawberries, homemade popcorn with just one tiny drop of oil and no butter.

I'm eager to introduce my boys to new healthy snacks so our routine doesn't grow stale. Here are seven ideas I like. You might like them too.

Nicole Labrecque was only three years old when she lost her battle with hepatoblastoma, a rare liver cancer. That was 16 years ago and for the last six years, Nicole's father Richard has been raising money to help seriously-ill children like his daughter have their special wish come true.

Richard said his daughter died suddenly three days after the family's Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World. Richard Labrecque told reporters, "She spent a beautiful week having fun and for a few days, she was able to forget about the pain of surgeries and chemotherapy. It is priceless to see these kids have fun. Nicole was three years old and we were swept off our feet. I'm dedicated to this organization."

In the past five years, Nicole's walk has raised over $70,000, which has gone to the Vermont Make-A-Wish Foundation. The annual walk, which will be held this year on May 20, 2007 on the Toonerville Trail in Springfield, VT starts at 9:30 a.m. The trail is 6.2 miles.

All participants get a purple T-shirt -- purple was Nicole's favorite color.

It's been one year since I began writing for The Cancer Blog. According to statistics generated by this site, I've written 27,381 words and 793 posts. If you've been reading for this entire time, you surely know a lot about me. Not only do my posts reflect current news and issues, but they feature all sorts of personal stuff too. When considered together, my work here reflects just about every piece of my cancer journey, my inner most thoughts, my morals and values, my take on the world. But for those of you who haven't been reading for long, for those who have forgotten how I fit into the cancer puzzle, for those who want a recap, here's a rundown on me: Jacki Donaldson.

I was born and raised in Ohio but have also lived in Nevada, Virginia, and Florida -- my current home. My life always went pretty much according to plan -- I lived happily with my parents and one sister, faithfully attended school, went to college, got married, had two baby boys and a series of good jobs, and had just begun commenting to my family members about how lucky our family was not to have been affected by cancer. It seems just as I spoke this aloud, cancer arrived.

Kim Goebel was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, at the age of 43. Her sister Kris noticed a lot of moms saying "How am I going to tell my kids?"

Partners for a Cure Foundation was founded by the sisters and they began planning a doll and a book to familiarize children with the physical and emotional effects of cancer treatment. The dolls are soft and lovable but depict the hard truth in a special way so that the kids will be less scared of what is happening with their mom's treatment process.

You've surely known kids whose parents smoke declare their repulsion for the habit. The health risk, the expense, the filth of smoking seem to deter many youngsters from following in the footsteps of mom and dad. Theoretically, anyway. In practice, these same kids may fall prey to the very act they vowed to reject.

How about kids raised in households filled with sugary snacks and drinks, foods packed with fat, salt, and calories, and parents with expanding waistlines? Seems only natural these children, despite good intentions, end up struggling with healthful eating and weight management.

We are what our parents teach us. It's all we know for a good many years. And by the time we are able to make our own independent decisions, it's often too late. Our parents' actions and values are already programmed within us -- and it takes hard work to switch things up.

So here's my plea for this Sunday morning: do your kids a favor and become a positive role model. Don 't just tell your little ones what is right and healthy and virtuous -- show them. Let your behavior be the gold standard now, so that later, it's likely to be what your sweet babies will fall back on.

Here are seven ways to get started:

Feed 'em well
If kids learn healthy eating habits early, they're likely to stick with them. Offer whole grains options (rice, bread, pasta) and snacks that are not in the junk food group. Don't even buy the stuff you may later wish to clear out of your cupboard. Guests at our house are offered two drink options -- water or milk. Why? Because if we have juice (it's loaded with sugar) or soda (also sugary and calorie-laden), our kids just can't hold back. But if we don't have these beverages, they are never an option. Out of sight, out of mind.

Keep 'em moving
Take your kids to the park, get them running around your backyard, take them swimming, organize a kid-friendly football game, invest in a kite. Quiet activities are also good -- and necessary -- but when in doubt about how to entertain your busy little bees, make them move!

Let 'em see you sweat
You need to keep moving too. Not only for your own well-being -- that's obvious -- but so your kids see your physical activity as a staple of healthy living. Teach your kids to do push-ups and sit-ups and do them together. Jump rope, run laps at a local track, ride bikes, or dance. Just don't expect your kids to stay active if your idea of exercise is flipping through TV channels.

No TV
Turn off that TV. Rid your household of junk-food commercials, mind-numbing content, and addictive inactivity. Let TV be a treat -- a small one -- and not an expectation.

No smoking
Need I explain? It's unhealthy, costly, dirty, and a sure contributor to cancer. Try with every ounce of your being to keep this habit away from your impressionable children.

No stress
Some stress is unavoidable. Some is even healthy. But the kind of stress that hurts our tummies, gives us headaches, and threatens our health should be minimized. We must do our best to control our own stress so its effects don't spill over. And we must teach our kids how to cope too. Fortunately, some of the techniques listed above also work for this category -- physical activity, for example, does wonders for lowering stress. We can become experts at deep breathing -- have your kids practice with you. And we can teach a bit of distraction. If homework is making kids crazy, go with them on a short walk where they can regroup and return to the task with a clear head.

No double standards
We simply cannot say one thing and do another. Smoking while preaching the dangers of the habit just doesn't make sense. Saying "no" to sweets with your hand in the cookie jar is downright unfair. Carrying around extra weight and demanding physical fitness is simply ineffective. So make a commitment to yourself and your kids that you will do as you say. It's the only way.

These days, politics and cancer seem to go hand in hand. In February, United States Representative Charles Norwood, from Augusta, Georgia, died of lung cancer. In March, Virginia Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis revealed the breast cancer she fought in 2005 had recurred. A few days ago Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, shared that her own breast cancer, originally diagnosed in 2004, has relocated to her bones.

United States Press secretary Tony Snow is a colon cancer survivor. Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is a prostate cancer survivor. Candidate John McCain has had three bouts with melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Bob Dole, now 83, was a cancer survivor at age 73 when he ran for the White House as the 1996 Republican presidential nominee against President Clinton. And the 2004 Democratic nominee, John Kerry, had prostate cancer surgery in 2003.

If I did more research, I bet I'd turn up a whole slew of other politicians who have received a direct hit from cancer. But that's not necessary. I think what I'm trying to demonstrate is already clear.

Take any sector of society and cancer will somehow be woven into the lives of those who define the population. Athletes and cancer. Celebrities and cancer. Musicians and cancer. Kids and cancer. Young moms and cancer. Men and cancer. Politicians and cancer.

This brings me to my next point -- cancer is widespread, so widespread it surfaces over and over again within any given group of people. This makes me sad. But this infiltration of the disease also means none of us is alone. And as a woman with cancer; a young mom with cancer; a wife, a daughter, a sister with cancer; and a writer with cancer, this makes me feel comforted, supported, and utterly strong.

Cancer sent me into a state of depression. And it took more than a year of counseling and treatment with an anti-depressant to bring me back to a balanced and healthy level of functioning.

My type of depression -- the kind that shows up just after a cancer diagnosis -- is not uncommon. And neither is the spillover that depression can leave on the children of moms depressed because of their disease.

A study at the University of Pittsburgh -- the first to examine the relationship between children's concerns and a mother's cancer-related depression -- found children of depressed breast cancer patients were more likely to be concerned or anxious about their mother's cancer and about how the disease affects their families.

It's not surprising that kids worry about their moms during times of illness. What startled researchers, though, is the fact that children's' anxieties extended to concerns about the entire family.

The results of this study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, has clear implications. As a society, we need to think about how depression affects whole family units. Oncologists must learn to spot depression early and must swiftly assist women in finding appropriate treatment. And parents should talk openly about cancer and it's emotional side effects with their children in an effort to protect them from withdrawing, hiding their concerns, and suffering in silence.

Most estimates indicate nearly one quarter of women diagnosed with breast cancer have young children. And about 100,000 kids will be affected by a cancer diagnosis this year alone.

Environmental groups claim some children's bath products contain a suspected cancer-causing chemical in amounts that reach or exceed safe limits. The chemical in question -- 1,4-dioxane -- is found in products made by companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Disney, Kimberly-Clark, and Gerber, says David Steinman, head of the environmental publishing company Freedom Press.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls this chemical, already known to cause cancer in animals, a probable human carcinogen. But there is no real regulation on the petroleum-derived chemical and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only recommends cosmetic companies limit the concentration of 1,4-dioxane to 10 parts per million (ppm).

Studies show Johnson's Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion contains the maximum recommended level of 10 ppm. They also reveal that Kid Care's Hello Kitty Bubble Bath contains 12.3 ppm of the chemical. And two adult shampoos have been found to have twice the recommended level of this chemical that is typically a manufacturing by-product.

It's been reported that nearly 57 percent of all baby soaps contain 1,4-dioxane. But Iris Grossman, director of communications at Johnson and Johnson, stresses that all of her products are within FDA limits.

Cancer is not the only risky link to children's bath products. It seems these items are also linked to early puberty development. And this is concerning because a fast-paced growth rate combined with children's porous skin increases susceptibility to toxins that can enter the bloodstream. One breast cancer expert says an increase in breast cancer risk is linked to toxic exposures during the formative years of life.

I never tire of cherishing the moment. Sometimes I get busy and distracted and caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, but I always come back to the simple appreciation of time. There's no stopping it -- time -- and there's no telling how my days will unfold as the seconds and minutes and hours tick by, so I try to live in the present with every breath I take.

Cancer taught me this lesson -- this realization that time is not a guarantee, this deep-down feeling that I must soak up every experience that faces me.

Each night when my husband and I check on our sleeping boys, we sigh with amazement and one of us religiously says something like, Wow, they are so great. We never want to lose sight of the joy these sometimes-challenging little people share with us. And so we watch them in their most peaceful moments, while emotion fills our heads and hearts.

My husband has lost sight of his father -- literally. He died eight years ago today and while John can no longer see the man who passed away suddenly, without warning, and at a much-too-young age, his memories are still vivid. It's the simple things he didn't let slip by that are fresh in his mind today.

John wrote this essay for his mom and two brothers and sent it to them today, in honor of his dad whose life he hopes will never escape him.

And then there were four

I think about him just about every day. Most often it's a song that reminds me of Dad, such as Cats in the Cradle, or even one of his favorite TV shows, Quantum Leap. I was shopping in Publix the other day while a great mix of music played -- a song from Three Degree's came on, When Will I See You Again, and I stood there with a thousand-mile stare on my face as I thought of Dad. I work in a building that looks right across the street from the last residence hall I lived in, Yulee Hall -- the last dorm from which Dad muscled all my belongings. I see that building every day.

The passing of time doesn't fade the memories I have of him, the distance between the last one just increases. Just about this time eight years ago, I laid across Dad's chest well after he took is last breath. That memory is forever burned into my mind along side the memory I have of walking past Kristin's room that fateful day many years ago. Before that day there were six of us, then there were five, and now there are four. Every force of nature cannot stop that number from reaching zero, so I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you all that I love you and think about you every day. Although death may be the worst gift of life, the gift of our kids will keep our numbers growing. It's unfortunate he didn't get to meet any of our kids and they didn't get to meet him -- but in a way they do. There is no doubt I share some of his qualities and those (hopefully only the good ones) affect the way I parent, the way I work, and the way I love.

I miss you, Dad.

Love, JP

The primary recipient of the 2006 grants for Curing Kid's Cancer is the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Curing Kid's Cancer is a charity that raises money for leading edge pediatric cancer research. The organization was inspired by nine year old Killian Owen's battle with leukemia. The $100,000 grant was given to Johns Hopkins for research into new targeted therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Curing Kid's Cancer has two national grassroots programs -- Coaches Curing Kid's Cancer and Teachers Curing Kid's Cancer.

The programs fund the development of cutting edge therapies which will revolutionize childhood cancer treatment by replacing traditional chemotherapy.

Curing Kid's Cancer aims to raise both awareness and money to find cures for all types of childhood cancers. Their objective is to turn this killer disease into a curable one in our lifetime.