Life has no guarantees. No one ever promises we'll sail easily through life, fall into the lap of a loving family, find the love of our lives, land a good and stable job, and have the perfect number of children, houses, cars, and toys.

That brings me to health. No guarantees here either. No one ever predicted I would get cancer. But I did. And while maybe it's a blessing I had no advance warning, the future would certainly be much more clear if it came with absolutes. It sure would be nice -- even now, 36 years into my life -- to hear the words: you will absolutely never get cancer -- again.

As soon as Joey hopped in the car after school today, he looked at his little brother and announced, "If you have two frogs and one more comes along, then you have three."

Joey is in kindergarten, and he is learning math -- specifically, he's learning to add. That's it. Adding, and nothing more. I know this because I followed his frog announcement with, "What if you have two frogs and you take one away?"

"That won't happen," Joey declared.

"Why?" I asked.

"It just won't," he assured me.

For Joey, life has absolutes. He is absolutely certain there is nothing more to the frog equation than what he knows on this very day. Fortunately for him, the mechanics of math -- and of life -- will unfold slowly. And it won't be a shock when he learns frogs can actually be taken away. I just hope he isn't blindsided by all the other unpredictabilities that await him. I guess that's why he has parents -- to prepare him for the uncertain events of the world.

Joey loves math. I'm glad. Because in the craziness of life, he can fall back on the comfort of numbers -- where there actually are a few absolutes. After all, if you have two frogs and one more comes along, then you have three. There's no way around that one.

Smoking is not an easy habit to break, and of the many methods tried, only a handful seem to work. Of the methods that do seem to work -- nicotine-replacement products; bupropion drugs; counseling; classes; calling a helpline or talking to a health professional -- younger smokers between the ages of 16 and 24 years who smoke and try to quit only use one of the recommended methods of help by talking to a professional. Because of this, younger smokers are less likely to be successful in quitting, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the 2003 National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey, the CDC found that younger smokers most often tried to quit smoking by cutting back on the number of cigarettes they smoked each day; not buying cigarettes; exercising; using the buddy system and trying to quit with a friend; telling others they were quitting and changing to a lighter brand of cigarette, switching to chewing tobacco, snuff, or other tobacco products. None of these methods are recommended by the US Public Health Service.

According to the National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey, 77 percent of younger smokers have tried to quit at least once without success. Over a third have tried to quit smoking numerous times without success. Researchers suggest that many younger smokers may need help with other high-risk behaviors such as binge drinking; depression or ADD/ADHD.

If you are a younger smoker who is trying to quit, the CDC encourages you to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or talk to your physician about methods that might lead to more success. The 2-page summary of the National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey is available as a pdf document.

I woke yesterday morning to voices on the Today Show telling me that the use of hair dye is linked to incidences of lymphoma -- a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. I know I've heard in the past about the possible link between cancer and the chemicals that add color to hair -- but the connection has never been revealed as very strong and the topic did not ever apply to me so I filed the information in the back of my mind. But now, it appears the link may be stronger than originally thought -- and I recently dyed my own post-chemo brown hair -- so I listened more intently this time and learned about the study that implies that touching up my roots may not be a wise practice.

The results of a European study, appearing in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, reveal that roughly 10 percent of lymphomas in women could be caused by the use of hair dyes. The data suggest a small increase in risk -- and clearly more research is necessary -- but what researchers have found is that for the women who have dyed their hair more than 12 times, the risk is highest. And those who colored their locks before 1980 have the greatest risk. Since 1980, chemicals thought to be cancer-causing were eliminated from dyes -- although it is still not definite whether or not current hair dyes are risk-free. It is definite, say researchers, that further study of this topic is important. In the meantime, I think I will let my artificial reddish chestnut hues fade away while I enjoy the plain brown hair that covers my once-bald scalp.