On December 20, founder of L.A.'s Circle West theater company and member of the off-Broadway Circle Repertory Company in New York, playwright and screenwriter John Bishop passed away from cancer during his stay at a clinic in Bad Heilbrunn, Germany.

Marshall W. Mason, founding artistic director of the Circle Repertory Company is quoted as saying, "John was one of our major writers. I think next to Lanford Wilson, he was our most prominent writer; he wrote many plays for us. Bishop had a remarkable insight into the dark side of human nature, which he saw in both a comic and satiric way. All this served him very well when he came to Hollywood because of that sardonic view, and also he was very into action. He made a good screenwriter as a result."

Bishop's credits are many, both as a playwright and screenwriter. Plays produced on Broadway included The Trip Back Down, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Elmer Gantry, Borderlines, The Great Grandson of Jedediah Kohler, Winter Signs and The Harvesting. He directed The Beaver Coat, El Salvador, Florida Crackers, and Empty Hearts. His screen credits included Drop Zone, The Package, Sliver and Beverly Hills Cops III. Described by the New Yorker as "one of our best dramatists," Bishop was 77.

New York Yankees legend and sports broadcaster Bobby Murcer will undergo surgery today at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston for a brain tumor, according to a New York Daily News published report. Murcer, who is 60, had been experiencing headaches and a lack of energy. The tumor was found during an MRI performed on Christmas eve.

Murcer is quoted by the newspaper as saying, "I'm feeling OK and we're just going to have to see what this surgery will bring. I'm hopeful that everything will turn out OK and I'm thankful to have so many friends who are rooting for me."

Murcer played professional baseball for 17 seasons. According to Wikipedia's profile, "A shortstop in the minor leagues, Murcer was slated to be the Yankees' third baseman but ended up being the center fielder following in the footsteps of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. Almost anyone would suffer in comparison to those members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Murcer did well enough during the years the Yankees finished in the second division to become one of the team's most popular players of that era."

Murcer played for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and the Chicago Cubs before returning to play for the Yankees again. He retired and became a sports broadcaster for the Yankees, going on to win three Emmy Awards for live sports coverage.

During Hearst Magazines 30 Days of Fashion and New York Fashion Week, thirty fashion photographs showcased in the photography exhibit titled Getting Ready: The Art of Choice will be auctioned by Jamie Niven of Sotheby's to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) whose mission is devoted to research, raising awareness and finding an ovarian cancer cure.

In 1994, Sol Schreiber founded OCRF to honor the memory of his wife, Ann, who fought for five years against ovarian cancer. The late editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar Liz Tilberis is credited for her influence in gaining attention for OCRF due to her numerous contacts in the worlds of fashion, beauty, and entertainment.

The photographs that will be auctioned feature works by well-known photographers Bryan Adams, Tina Barney, Patrick Demarchelier, Jessica Todd-Harper, Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Lindbergh, Matthew Pillsbury, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Vee Speers, and Timothy White.

Fashion designer Betsey Johnson is the definition of original. As colorful and spirited as her fashion designs and clothing stores, at 63, she embraces life with equal creative enthusiasm. A journalist is quoted as once saying, "If Betsey Johnson didn't exist, we would have to invent her. She's the original wild child set to paint the town pink!"

In 1999, Betsey was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery and 33 radiation treatments, she became a breast cancer advocate involved in fundraising events and creating one-of-a-kind items that have been auctioned off to raise money for breast cancer charity. She has been an Honorary Chairperson for the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer initiative and was honored with an award by the National Breast Cancer Coalition for her contributions and work as a breast cancer advocate.

Two years ago, she designed a special tee for the book written by Geralyn Lucas, Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy. Both the book and tee were part of the Courage Night campaign launched through the chain of Betsey Johnson stores.

To find out what's new and what Betsey is up to next, visit the Betsey Johnson website.

Alyssa Bruno, who is five years old, has been diagnosed with diffuse pontine glioma, a brain stem cancer. With a birthday card and a penny for good luck, you can help little Alyssa of Henrietta celebrate her birthday. On August 2, when Alyssa turns six years old, the Federation of Social Workers will deliver all the birthday cards and lucky pennies to Alyssa.

The request began as an email send out by one of Alyssa's teachers. She sent out the email requesting birthday cards and lucky pennies for Alyssa, with an additional request that the person receiving the email forward it on to others. As of now, the federation has received 35 birthday cards for Alyssa. If you would like to brighten the day of a little girl who is facing cancer on her very special day, send her a birthday card to:

Alyssa Bruno Birthday Cards
Federation of Social Workers
167 Flanders Street (D-12)
Rochester, New York 14619

Don't forget the lucky penny!

70 year old tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and is "recovering well" said his manager in a report today. He remains in a New York hospital not yet named. The mass was completely removed but all remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled as he starts treatments. Tour plans will resume in early 2007.

Pavarotti retired from opera two years ago, saying his weight problem and bad knee prevented him from moving comfortably around stages. But he kept up with his concert career. He first reached stardom in the U.S. in 1965 opposite Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor". He has performed over 350 times at the world famous Met along with hundreds of performances at Milan's Teatro all La Scala, London's Royal Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera, and at the Opera de Paris and 45 at the Vienna State Opera. Pavrotti was also part of The Three Tenors joining Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. The trio sang together for thirteen years.

Erin Brockovich-Ellis traveled to Ithaca to tell local homeowners she thinks they have a strong legal case against Emerson Power Transmission for damages resulting from the plant's contamination of the area with the industrial solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE, a potentially potent carcinogen. It seeps into groundwater. According to Brockovich-Ellis, "the residents are not dealing with a rinky-dink amount of TCE," and went on to indicate that the TCE numbers are some of the highest she has ever seen. A spokesperson for Emerson is quoted as saying that the company was not aware of any lawsuit and had no comment. They might not have a comment but I seriously doubt they are unaware of the potential lawsuit or the arrival of Brockovich-Ellis.

Neither a lawyer or scientist, she has become legendary for her activism and work regarding environmental issues related to cancer incidence. What made her famous was the curious, relentless, tenacious, and fearlessness of her pursuit in exposing the truth of the incident involving Pacific Gas and Electric who had been knowingly exposing residents groundwater to the cancer-causing agent chromium 6 and the cancer deaths that followed. Like I said, because of who she is and the reputation that precedes her, I have difficulty believing the Emerson spokesperson when he states they are not even aware of the arrival of Brockovich-Ellis and the lawsuit her firm is interested in taking on against the company.

In an earlier post, TCE: groundwater contamination in toxic triangle of cancer, we shared a story about residents in Texas who plant small purple crosses in the front lawns of those who have been diagnosed with cancer. They believe they have been poisoned by the TCE that was dumped at a military base for decades and subsequently spread for miles through a shallow aquifer under the 22,000 nearby homes where they live. 

As part of a cancer fundraising campaign of the Yankees Universe fund for pediatric cancer research, education and patient care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the New York Yankees are offering a limited-edition Yankees Universe t-shirt. Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner III feels this is an exciting program will help many kids and their families lead a better life.

Monday, Brian Cashman, manager Joe Torre and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra delivered the announcement of the new Yankee Universe campaign at a press conference. Torre mentioned his diagnosis of prostate cancer in 1999. He called Memorial Sloan-Kettering and the Yankees the two most important teams in his life during the last 11 years. Torre said that cancer is a word that scares you, but when you find out the kind of work people are doing to discover a cure, it's very reassuring. "This is the Yankee universe," O'Reilly said. "And as far as I'm concerned, there's no better place to be."

Photo credit: Ben Couch

Ten years ago, Nina Barough, with no previous experience in fundraising, power walking or marathons, woke up one morning with what seemed to her a brilliant idea – to power walk the New York marathon in a decorated bra to raise money for breast cancer. Barough was simply looking for a way to make breast cancer fundraising fun. The first year, thirteen women joined her in the New York marathon.

At the time of her brilliant idea, Barough did not suspect she had breast cancer. One year after the first walk, Barough was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she was undergoing surgery and cancer treatments, those around her decided to power walk the London Marathon as a way to show their support for her. The London Marathon walk was a huge success, raising over £25,000. After this Walk the Walk, the decorated and designed bras were auctioned.

In the spring of 1998 a Walk the Walk team entered the London Marathon, but places were limited, and only 25 people were able to register. Another 25 were denied entrance into the marathon. Nina decided to create a marathon for those left out. She came up with a marathon that started at midnight and ended at seven in the morning the day of the official London Marathon. The Moonwalk has become a wildly popular and major annual event.

Since its humble beginnings, Walk the Walk has become a worldwide annual event and has raised excess of £2.5million for breast cancer research and cancer care programs.

New York and California residents breathe in the dirtiest air in the United States and face higher cancer risks than the rest of the country, according to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Oregon, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey had the third, fourth and fifth worst air in the nation. Rural residents of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana have the cleanest air.

What is hanging so toxic in the air? Benzene from cars and trucks that burn gasoline or diesel fuel. Other toxins causing higher risks for cancer where air pollution is the worst are naphthalene and acetaldehyde, also from vehicles, and chromium, from industries.