When Australian pop star Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, there was a sudden surge in the number of young women requesting breast cancer screening. Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 37 raised concern among a younger population of women that breast cancer is a diagnosis that could potentially happen to them. Knowledge is power and education saves lives. The increase in breast cancer awareness became known as the Kylie Effect.

However, the awareness that younger women can develop breast cancer has led some women to age-related conclusions about breast cancer that are not true, and this is also being referred to as the Kylie Effect. According to a recent survey of 2,289 women conducted by Cancer Research UK, 77 percent of the survey participants said that breast cancer risk was higher for women under the age of 70, and 33 percent said that women under the age of 50 were most at risk. The fact is cancer risk increases with age, and four out of five women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50.

"Celebrities with breast cancer like Kylie Minogue and Caron Keating have attracted a lot of publicity -- especially in magazines aimed at younger women. This is very beneficial in that it raises awareness of breast cancer. But the down side is that it may also set up a chain of panic among young women, while misleading older women to think that ageing is not a relevant factor in breast cancer," stated Dr Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK.

For a retrospective of Kylie Minogue's breast cancer journey:

• Kylie Minogue: voted favorite traveling companion of men.
• Kylie Minogue: world exclusive interview with Sky One.
• Kylie Minogue loses close friend and personal chauffeur to cancer.
• Kylie Minogue: back on stage as a breast cancer survivor.
• Kylie Minogue: laughter is the best medicine for cancer cure.
• Dannii Minogue: sings under pressure about sister Kylie.
• Kylie Minogue breast cancer survivor glows in health.
• Kylie Minogue: cancer survivor writes children's book.
• Kylie Minogue joins women in fight for Herceptin.
• Kylie Minogue in breast cancer remission.

What should younger women do to be breast cancer smart? Do a monthly self exam and if they notice any abnormalities or lumps, insist that tests be done to rule out breast cancer. Realize that while any woman at any age can get breast cancer, the chances increase with age and 80 percent of breast cancer diagnosis happen for women 50 years and older.

It is no secret that our culture has a fascination with celebrities. In attempting to figure out exactly why, I have come to the conclusion it might be no more of a mystery other than they are people we all know in common. As human beings, we are naturally intrigued by other human beings. But if I try to talk to you about my neighbor, and you do not live in my neighborhood, you will have no idea who I am talking about or how to relate information I am sharing about that person because you have no point of reference. However, celebrities are people we all know of -- they become familiar in that we hear about them every day -- we see images of them every day in the news.

Before being diagnosed with breast cancer, a woman might not have paid much attention to breast cancer. Oh yes, the breast cancer awareness campaigns are raising awareness, but we do not really like to spent too much time dwelling on potentially life-threatening events unless we are compelled to do so -- usually with a breast cancer diagnosis.

Over at Silicon Valley Moms Blog, Tekla blogged the top ten things this group of moms have learned since they began blogging seven months ago in Moms boobs and other lessons learned. Interestingly, and unfortunately accurate, number six on the list is:

"6. If you talk about breast cancer, your blog stats go way down for days and days. Everyone knows it's something women need to deal with, but clearly no one wants to read about it."

And so, if you are newly-diagnosed with breast cancer, or know someone who is, and haven't spent much time focused on breast cancer before diagnosis, there are many women we all know in common who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and many of them as breast cancer survivors. In time, you will personally meet other breast cancer survivors and realize you are not alone and be inspired by their hope, strength, courage and companionship. Until then, you can read an extensive list of 100 famous women who have faced breast cancer down and gone on -- here.

I will be honest. After a double mastectomy left my chest mutilated and scarred, I worried if I would be physically attractive to a man after breast cancer surgery. It's not that I think men are shallow, it had more to do with all that cancer was taking away in my life, and I was not sure how much I would pay in the final cost of losses.

Worse yet, I wondered if simply being someone who had been diagnosed with cancer would make people run the other way. If the private conversations I have had with other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are a true indication, these are secret fears most of us share.

We each find our own inspiration back to feeling accepted and attractive in reclaiming the every day challenges and joys of relationships and life. For me, one of the ways I found that gave me hope was watching other breast cancer survivors enter new relationships or get married. As in -- obviously it doesn't seem to matter when it comes to love how imperfect you might be physically -- cancer surgery scars and all -- or that you were someone who had cancer.

I even find inspiration in Kylie Minogue being voted the number one desired traveling companion of men in a poll conducted by British Airways. She beat out Rachel Stevens and actress Angelina Jolie for the top spot. Not bad.

Yes, I know, few of us have the attractive quality of fame, fortune and international celebrity status to carry us along, but that does not matter. The fact that Minogue was voted by men as the number one person they would most like to be seated next to on a flight just reaffirms one more time the hope factor for me.

Seriously, I am okay now, it's been a few years but I remember when this private fear hurt my heart and I wondered if cancer had stolen more from me than was obvious at the time of diagnosis. If you are newly-diagnosed and reading this, and worry and wonder privately what life will be like down the road, it only gets better and the fears and worry about sex appeal will be have been for naught. Few will run the other way.

Olivia Newton-John, breast cancer survivor, and strong advocate for raising breast cancer awareness, recently released a CD dedicated to anyone who has been touched by cancer.

The CD features performances by some of her closest friends including Delta Goodrem, Patti Labelle, Diahann Carroll and Amy Sky. One of the ten songs on the CD includes Can I Trust Your Arms, written by Olivia's daughter Chloe, as a special Christmas gift for her mother.

Olivia Newton-John shares her feelings about the CD by saying, "I believe the songs I have chosen reflect the many emotions of such a journey. By way of this CD I am grateful to be able to pass on that torch with these songs of inspiration, encouragement and understanding to all of those facing breast cancer or any other challenging journey." Part of the proceeds from Stronger than Before are going to help build a comprehensive cancer center to treat all cancers at the Austin Hospital in Melborne, Australia.

New photographs of Kylie Minogue have been published on the Kylie Minogue website, showing a radiantly beautiful breast cancer survivor on her road to recovery. On a weekend break in Portofino, Italy, as a guest of fashion designers Dolce and Gabbana, her boyfriend Olivier Martinez took the first photographs -- following her chemotherapy hair loss -- that have been publicly released showing Minogue without a head scarf. As is normally the case, cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy suffer an almost complete hair loss.

According to the statement published on her website, these new photos are a way to show her fans how well she is doing. A message posted for her fans reads, "She wanted to send a big hello and all her best to the many Kylie.com regulars." I remember those days, when the energy begins to return, and the hair begins to grow back in, when you have come through the darkest time of life -- so close to death -- to reemerge renewed into the technicolor of life. Minogue looks simply stunning. Every breast cancer survivor I know has this same inner glow that radiates into the world around them.

During the last year of breast cancer treatment and recovery, Minogue had stated one of her goals was to write a children's book. She has met that goal with Showgirl Princess, set for release in September.

In the Shropshire Star, is the story of Susan Morgan, 41, diagnosed with the type of breast cancer that can benefit from treatment with Herceptin. But, unless she is able to pay £47,000 for the drug, she will not be treated with it because her primary care trust will not cover the cost.

Rather than sit and watch her mother die because they can not afford a drug that might prolong her mother's life, Katie, 10, decided to take matters into her own hands. First, Katie started selling eggs from the family farm to raise money for her mother. Then she wrote a passionate letter to the local MP pleading for help on behalf of her mother's life. The letter made the news, and an anonymous benefactor has offered to pay for Ms. Morgan's cancer drug treatment with Herceptin. I am pleased that Katie's mother will be able to have access to the drug now, but so terribly sad that a young girl had to be put through the emotional trauma and fear that prompted her to write a letter asking for help to save her mother's life. Even more unfortunate, this is not an isolated case.

Women Fighting for Herceptin, a British group calling on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, to approve Herceptin, a drug used to treat women with HER2/neu receptor positive breast cancer, as a first line treatment for early-stage breast cancer. The group wants the expensive life-saving drug treatment made freely available to all women with HER-2 positive breast cancer. In an act of civil disobedience, Jayne Sullivan staged a one-woman protest at the National Assembly in Cardiff Bay, Wales, until her government agreed to end the postcard lottery of medical care for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Her government had refused to grant women with early-stage breast cancer access to the drug Herceptin. This story is not over, as women in parts of the UK continue to fight not only cancer, but a universal health system that is denying them access to cancer drug treatment.

While Kylie Minogue was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, she used the time to write a children's book. Puffin announced it will publish Showgirl Princess, saying the book "will appeal to little princesses everywhere who love to have fun" and that "little girls who dream of dressing up and going on stage" will enjoy it. Showgirl Princess, set to be released in September, is about Ms. Minogue, but not autobiographical in the strictest sense.

Kylie Minogue, 37, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in May 2005. In addition to the conventional medical treatments for breast cancer, Minogue used a variety of alternative therapies, including visualization practices, nutrition, massage and Reiki. Minogue has been spending time with her family in Melbourne, Australia, and tending to the garden. In the last year of facing life with cancer, she has made public comments regarding the transforming life experiences cancer has had on her priorities in life. She had indicated at the end of 2005 that she was writing a children's book as part of her new life as a breast cancer survivor.

The purpose of awareness, education and fundraising campaigns about cancer is cancer prevention, and ultimately, a cancer cure. What we do not know can hurt us, and what we do not learn may hasten our death. Women celebrities who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and allow the public access to information about one of the most significantly personal and life-altering moments that can happen in a woman's life, raise public awareness, and funds, for cancer causes. Kylie Minogue, Melissa Etheridge, Anastacia, and most recently, Sheryl Crow, are women celebrities who have been public about their diagnosis of breast cancer. Each one of these women lend their celebrity status to raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research, prevention and cure.

Anastacia, who enjoys worldwide popularity as a singer/songwriter, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, is a breast cancer survivor who is promoting breast cancer prevention and support for younger women diagnosed with breast cancer by establishing the Anastacia Fund within The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Her primary focus is encouraging women under 40 to go in for breast cancer screening, self-examination and mammograms, even when there is no family history of breast cancer. Anastacia believes it saved her life.

Kylie Minogue is joining Women Fighting for Herceptin, a British group calling on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, to approve Herceptin, a drug used to treat women with HER2/neu receptor positive breast cancer, as a first line treatment for early-stage breast cancer. The group wants the expensive life-saving drug treatment made freely available to all women with HER-2 positive breast cancer. According to Women Fighting for Herceptin, the drug has been around for approximately 10 to 15 years although it has only been prescribed in the UK during the last five to six years, and only for late-stage HER-2 positive breast cancer patients. Approximately 25 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer are diagnosed with HER-2 positive breast cancer. Women Fighting for Herceptin had invited Minogue to appear at the British group's gala concert last week, but she is still recovering from breast cancer treatments. Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and is currently staying with family in Australia.

Kylie Minogue, 37, diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer in May 2005, is reported to be in full remission. After eight months of surgeries and chemotherapy, she is said to be gaining weight and feeling optimistic about the future. In addition to the conventional medical treatments for breast cancer, Minogue used a variety of alternative therapies, including visualization practices, nutrition, massage and Reiki. Minogue is spending time with her family in Melbourne, Australia, tending to the garden and possibly writing a book for children. She plans on touring later this year.