I have been posting over at our sister blog ParentDish for the past year. It has been almost exactly a year since I have posted here at The Cancer Blog, and so I probably need to re-introduce myself. I will be posting here again on a regular basis, and I am happy to be back!

I am not a cancer survivor, but I have lost people close to me who have had cancer, and another friend is having surgery at the Mayo Clinic soon to remove a mass he recently found in his groin area. One of my very dear friends works tirelessly year round in Wisconsin for her Relay team. And, I am a medical editor also.

It is the results of these experiences that gave me pause the other day when, for the first time in over a year, I realized that I needed to order new checks. I was looking at the online company where I bought my checks, and clicked on the link for activism. I didn't know (probably because I never bothered to look before) that you could order Checks for the Cure. Nine percent of the proceeds from purchasing the checks go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In the coming weeks. I will be focusing on the people, like my friend Keri, who work tirelessly to raise money to fight cancer. There are countless ways, besides purchasing checks, in which we can all make a difference. And I'm happy to do my part.

Osteosarcoma begins in the bones. It is the most common type of bone cancer tumor in the group of bone cancers called osteogenic sarcomas. It affects 5 percent of all teens diagnosed with cancer. Symptoms usually include pain or swelling in the legs or arms.

Tina blogs about her daughter Kristina Rose. Kristina's website caught my eye one day because we share the same name. I wanted to read about her story. I have since then been in contact with Kristina's mom Tina. She is an amazing mom who lives with the fear of Kristina's cancer returning. Kristina is doing wonderful and is now over a two year survivor!

The Relay for Life is something that is very important to Tina. She wants to make sure that a cure is found! You can go to the American Cancer Society website to find more information about the Relay for Life or go here to find information about the Relay of Life that Kristina and her mom will be involved in.

On March 29th, 2004 Kristina was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. She was only 11 years old. She is a beautiful young woman now, as you can see! Tina might not have too much to blog about these days except that Kristina is being a normal teenager and spending lots of time on the phone. This I love to hear!

A fatal crash in Martinez, Georgia, involving 10 motorcycles and a car marred an otherwise jubilant Relay for Life event on Saturday night. The fund raiser, part of a national effort to raise money for breast cancer, involves an all night relay in which teams walk or run laps to help raise awareness and education for breast cancer and for the American Cancer Society. The coroner has not released the name of the male motorcyclist who was killed during the event. The female driver of the car was not injured. Relay for Life is a wonderful event and brings much peace to the participants. As the teams walk or run throughout the night, friends and loved ones are remembered and celebrated. To read more, click here for additional information.

It came as a sudden shock to Paul Schmitt when his sister died from breast cancer. Her daughter, and his niece, died from breast cancer while his sister lay in a coma, dying from the same disease. She never knew her daughter passed away.

On April 26, 2006, Schmitt, who is 62, will begin a 12,000 mile bicycle trip that will take him to the 4 corners of the U.S. - from Allentown, Pennsylvania to St. Augustine, Florida, west to San Diego, California, north to Anacortes, Washington, east to Bar Harbor, Maine and south back to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Schmitt will be raising money for the Bethlehem chapter of American Cancer Society's Relay For Life in Macungie. Schmitt is hoping to cover 135 miles a day to complete his trip in 90 days.

Schmitt, a former professional soccer player, can make this trip happen. He competes in biathlons several times a year. He runs 3 miles and bikes 20-25 miles a day. If you would like to support his efforts, visit Senior Biker, to learn more.

American Cancer Society, ACS, Relay For Life is an overnight team event to celebrate cancer survivorship and raise money for cancer research and cancer programs. All cancer survivors in the community are invited to join the Survivors Lap, part of the opening ceremonies of the Relay For Life event. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times. At the end of the day, the Ceremony of Hope and Luminaria are special tributes to remember those lost to cancer, support those fighting cancer, and celebrate cancer survivors. Communities aross the country are looking for volunteers and participants in their local Relay for Life. For more information, visit ASC's Relay For Life webpage, for details on how to sign up, or contact your local ACS office. 

In 1985, Relay for Life began with one man, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma colorectal surgeon, who wanted to create a way to raise more money for his local American Cancer Society office. On September 19-20, 2006, nearly 4,000 American Cancer Society Celebration Ambassadors will gather in Washington, DC for Celebration on the Hill 2006, an event designed to impress upon the nation's lawmakers how the American Cancer Society is waging the fight against cancer in communities nationwide.

Christine Stewart of Practical Truisms, a lung cancer survivor, was part of the Naples Relay For Life kick-off party, where cancer survivors remembered Dana Reeve for her work as a cancer advocate. Stewart hopes the death of Dana Reeve will educate people about lung cancer. Stewart had never been a smoker either, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

"Lung cancer has a difficult time getting funds because people think oh, just don't smoke and you won't get it, problem solved," says Stewart, lung cancer survivor. Dana Reeve and Christine Stewart remind us, this is just not the case. Hopefully, with more public awareness, the stigma often associated with lung cancer being a smoker's disease, will fade. Lung cancer research is seriously under-funded.

As a reader of The Cancer Blog, you may remember Stewart, from Practical Truisms: inspiration from a lung cancer survivor. In 2004, Christine Stewart, a young woman with two small children, who did not smoke cigarettes, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. At the time of diagnosis, Stewart was given a two percent chance of surviving a lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes, tailbone and brain. Because of a clinical trial drug given to Stewart, she is with us today, in cancer remission. Stewart has been a joy to get to know, and is one of my favorite women in the cancer community.