Kelly Jo Dowd, mom of 14-year-old golf sensation Dakoda Dowd, died of breast cancer in her Palm Harbor, Fla. home Thursday night. She was 42.

Dowd spent years battling the disease that had spread to her bones, liver, and brain. She also spent years waiting to see her young daughter play in an LPGA event. Her wish came true last spring.

"I'm prouder today than I was yesterday that my daughter has the courage and strength to play with these LPGA professionals," Dowd said after the Ginn Clubs & Resorts LPGA tournament. "And I feel great right now. I feel great. My dream came true out here."

Cleopatra was her name, she died yesterday. She was eleven and half years old. What a sweet girl she was and I am going to miss her so much. She died of a liver tumor that was diagnosed yesterday. I took her to the emergency animal hospital after I noticed that she looked very lethargic.

Cleo was part of my life for such a long time. One thing that sticks in my mind about her was that after I was diagnosed with breast cancer she would always come over to me when I was crying -- like she knew I was upset and she always made me feel better.

Goodbye Cleo -- mommy loves you.

It seems screening for lung cancer doesn't save lives and it doesn't prevent advanced disease. But it does lead to potentially unnecessary and harmful treatment.

This isn't the final word on the use of CT scans to screen smokers and former smokers for the disease. But right now, the hope some experts had for the special X-rays to detect tiny lung abnormalities has been diminished by a large study that is still in the works. And until conclusive evidence says the screening is useful, the American Cancer Society will not endorse the test.

While CT screening did increase diagnosis and treatment -- those screened were three times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer and 10 times more likely to have lung surgery than predicted -- study co-author Dr. Peter Bach of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York says, "We don't see a trace of evidence that a single life was saved, that a single case of advanced cancer was avoided."

And because CT scanning led to more biopsies and surgeries, patients were put at risk for complications such as lung puncture, bleeding, and infection, according to Bach, whose work is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Getting screened for lung cancer with CT scanning is not only unproven, it's potentially a risky endeavor," he said.

Until an effective screening tool emerges -- possibly still years away -- experts say there is one surefire way to protect yourself from lung cancer. Stop smoking.

It's been so long I can barely remember the cause of the family rift that kept me separated from an aunt, an uncle, and cousins for many years. All that remains clear is that a once-close family split apart because of disagreement and hurt feelings and that my grandma -- the glue that held this family together for more than 50 years -- was heartbroken. She did everything she could to repair the damage of her splintered family. But despite begging, pleading, and continued prayers, reconciliation seemed impossible -- until it became evident this sweet woman was about to die.

The progress was slow and began with a rallying of family members at my grandma's bedside. She was somewhat incoherent at the time, and I'm not quite sure if she realized her broken family was on the mend. But I hope she knows, in some heavenly way, that she is the one who ultimately brought everyone together.

After her passing, we all gathered for her memorial service. We took turns spreading her ashes at a tree planted in her honor. We talked and visited and laughed and ate. We broke the ice and opened the door for further interaction. It was refreshing to mourn the loss of Gram without overriding tension and conflict.

I'm not sure if family relations would have continued without what happened next. I suspect we may have all returned to our lives and gone our separate ways, happy we had reconnected but still missing the closeness we once experienced. But then cancer entered our lives, shocked us all, and gave us all reason to stay in touch.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer not long after my grandma died. And the same people who came to her bedside came to my rescue in ways I never would have imagined in the heat of battle. The same people who for years were absent from my life were the ones offering me support and encouragement and love. They helped me get better.

Once I was better, life returned to a somewhat normal routine. And maybe we would have routinely slipped back into our selfish ways. But illness struck again, requiring we all step back up to the plate.

My uncle, who has lived with diabetes for many years, was faced this year with losing his foot. Thankfully, he found specialists who gave him hope and reason to travel every month for several months to a clinic in my city, where eight family members live and where options never before available to him became a reality -- both medically and personally.

My uncle is doing well, walking on his foot with the aid of a brace. And our family is doing well, as a result of frequent visits, lunches, and continued laughs.

It took death and disease to bridge the gap that existed for much too long between the members of my family. And just this weekend, after spending a glorious weekend with my long-lost cousins, I realized we have possibly arrived back where we once started -- before whatever led to our disagreement and hurt feelings drove us apart.

I believe Gram is smiling down upon us at this very moment, content at last that her three beautiful children -- and their children and their children -- are again a happy family.

This past summer, a man in the business of helping smokers quit, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Just months later, anti-smoking guru Allen Carr lost his battle with cancer. On November 29th, Carr died at his home in Malaga, Spain.

A heavy smoker for 33 years before quitting 23 years ago, Carr claimed to have found an easy way to quit smoking. From that discovery, he founded The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program, which would eventually grow into 70 clinics in 30 countries. In addition, his company publishes how-to quit smoking books, CDs, tapes and DVDs.

Using cognitive therapy, Carr told smokers interested in quitting that they could do it without willpower, without suffering withdrawal and without gaining weight. The celebrity endorsements for his program include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sean Bean, Marie Helvin, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Lisa Stansfield, Sir Richard Branson, Britney Spears, Susannah York, Bruce Oldfield, Stefano Gabbana and Julie Christie.

Carr is credited with helping over 25 million people to quit smoking.

An Easy Way to Stop Smoking Program clinic spokesperson was quoted as saying, "Allen spent many years in smoke-filled rooms after he quit, while treating smokers for addiction. He is certain that had he not quit, he would have died 20 years ago." Near the time of his death, Carr wrote a letter to Tony Blair urging his government and NHS to accept the easy method program. Carr was 72.

Years before she was diagnosed with cancer, Miriam Engelberg had planned on creating comics featuring her life as a mother. Instead, at the age of 43, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she used cartooning as a way to cope with the shock of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, support groups, and a second cancer diagnosis. A collection of her comics can be found in Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics.

Reviewers described her book as "a fusion of the deadly serious with the absurd, in the finest tradition of black humor." Readers described her book as an insider's humor for survivors -- funny, heartbreaking and totally relatable in her refreshing take on living with cancer.

The world has lost some of its humor and light and spirit today with the loss of Miriam Engelberg. She took the mundane moments and the challenging trials of breast cancer and through her delightful perspective, encouraged us to see the lighter side. She exposed our private and sometimes silly thoughts and gave us a chance to laugh at ourselves.

There is nothing funny about cancer. It is scary. It is heavy. It is dark. It is full of terror and it steals lives. But, through Miriam's extraordinary talent with pen and ink and cartoon conversation bubbles, we were somehow allowed a brief reprieve from the grim reality of the frightening struggle to survive a profane and inequitable disease that ordinary time makes impossible to escape. In the company of her delicious creativity, we found solace from and in our all too real and immediate reality.

Gina, a close friend whom Miriam trusted to continue her online mail and weekly cartoon publication after she entered hospice care, wrote this evening, "Miriam had her family and close friends with her and was not in a coma. As far as I can tell, she didn't suffer and was spared the intense pain many go through with cancer. I like to think the love, humor and good karma she shared with everyone protected her from the worst aspects of dying."

Our hearts are broken for the loss of the transcending spirit that will always be uniquely Miriam Engelberg. Our hearts are broken for the undefinable loss her family and close friends will endure in her passing from this life. Tonight, our laughter is muffled in a far away place, with Miriam. A part of who we are has gone, with Miriam. In the morning, we will keep her love, humor and good karma close to us in everlasting memory of Miriam. Tonight is full of tears.

Pink Pony is the catch phrase for Ralph Lauren's initiative in the fight against breast cancer. Not only does Ralph Lauren support the fight by donating 10 percent of the proceeds from Pink Pony products to charity, but he has his own charity -- The Pink Pony Fund for Cancer Care and Prevention.

The Pink Pony Fund is a worldwide philanthropic effort. In the United States alone, Pink Pony recipients include Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York City, Prevención, Inc., and Nina Hyde Center, both in Washington, D.C.

One of the premiere services provided by the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention is the patient navigator -- a concept created by Dr. Harold Freeman, medical director of the Center. Navigators assist patients and family members with access to health-care services and help them move with ease through the medical system. Navigators help patients with communication barriers, financial concerns, insurance difficulties, emotional issues, and more.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to the pink pony. It is not merely a fashion statement that happens to kick a few dollars toward breast cancer research. It is a statement of true compassion and concern and commitment. It is a symbol of one man's hard work over the past 15 years to make a difference in the lives of women everywhere.

Brendan Borek High Tides Memorial Fund provides assistance to residents of Cape May County, New Jersey who have a child or young adult with cancer. Brendan was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma and lost his battle in December of 1991. Brendan was a surfer and his friends wished him high tides during his cancer battle since the high tides at the Jersey shore would bring the best surfing conditions.

The memorial fund brings high tides conditions to those who need it in the Cape May area. Services provided include professional counseling and advocacy programs to financial and material assistance.

On August 15, 2006 the Avalon Yacht club is hosting The Local Artist and Friends Art Show. All ticket proceeds and fifty percent of all artwork sold benefits Brendan's fund.

Thanks to Chris Twonley for the tip and for donating some of her amazing paintings to the show!

The aftermath of devastation and unimaginable horror when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans is still making headline news. The images and reporting coming out of New Orleans in the first days after the hurricane disaster by mainstream and citizen media were disturbing. The government, state and local authorities failing to provide safety for the people of New Orleans are more than one. But the purpose of this post is not about political failings but medical ethics and the possibility that a doctor and two nurses committed the most unthinkable act of choosing to euthanize patients as they waited to be rescued from the flooding after the storm hit.

Memorial Medical Center had been cut off by flooding after the hurricane. Power was out in the 317-bed hospital and the temperatures inside rose over 100 degrees. As it is told, the medical staff did the best they could under extreme circumstances to care for patients as they waited day after day -- four days total -- to be evacuated from the flooded conditions. As they waited, patients died.

Stories started to surface that some of the deaths were decided on by a small group of medical staff. An investigation that followed as to whether there was any truth to the rumors that patients in pain had been euthanized. One doctor and two nurses have now been arrested on charges of second-degree murder. The arrest warrants state the three intentionally killed four patients at Memorial Medical Center.

"We're not calling this euthanasia. We're not calling this mercy killings. This is second-degree murder," said Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Charles C. Foti.

Arrests are not convictions, and it is my belief that we should hold judgment. I cannot help but be saddened that human beings were put into such dire straits as the people of New Orleans were during the flooding after the hurricane, or that stories like this could even be true. It appears the Attorney General's office feels they have enough evidence to prove the truth to what were once rumors -- and if proven true in a court of law -- there is no justifiable reason to do what these three are accused of doing. Doctors and nurses have to be trusted to do everything humanly possible to save lives. What are your thoughts about this story?

Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital in Michigan is forming a new group for breast cancer survivors in Eaton County. The new group that has a slogan of Survive is an action verb! will launch with a focus on several projects.

The Chemo Cab project helps with transportation for patients going to chemotherapy treatments. The Progressive Journal project will include a special handcrafted book that will pass from person to person throughout the year and be brought to meetings. The pages will be filled with individual stories that provide encouragement, while also being humorous and hopeful. The Hope Chest project is similar to the journal. The chest will be filled with stories, artwork, poems and various other items that patients can take or leave to offer inspiration, hope and support to each other.

The kick-off meeting on June 19 at 6:30 p.m. in room A of HGB's Trumley Education Center, an explanation of how the message Survive is an action verb! will be realized. Breast cancer survivors and their guests are encouraged to become a part of a growing and influential group.

For more information, contact Barbara Fulton at bfulton@hgbhealth.com or (517) 543-1050, ext. 1208.