The most recent season of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge reality show has just ended. Customary after each season finale is a reunion show -- where a sampling of contestants recap their experiences, answer questions, confirm or dispel show rumors, and update viewers on the status of their post-television lives. The winners -- a twosome who took home $250,000 -- sit front and center at the reunion and get to bask in the glory of the physical and mental prowess that allowed them to win the big bucks. Two contestants clearly won -- they have the money to prove it. But another contestant -- who didn't take home a dime -- is the true winner in my book.

Diem Brown, 25, was cast on the MTV challenge show before she knew she had ovarian cancer. But prior to the start of the show, Brown did know of her diagnosis -- and she still decided after just a few treatments to head for Australia where she competed in physical stunts and tough competitions. The producers never knew of Brown's illness and she confided in only two castmates while she battled through fatigue and nausea to complete her own personal survival mission. She succeeded -- and she returned home victorious in her own right. And she has no regrets.

On the reunion show, Brown said the show made her more fierce, that she came out of the experience a stronger person, that she tried her hardest, put everything on the line, and didn't feel sorry for herself. And it put her mindset in a great place prior to returning home for continued treatment.

And now Brown is home. She is receiving treatment. And she is managing her foundation -- Live for the Challenge -- a wedding-type registry
where patients can register for wigs, prescriptions, anything critical to the management of their illness.

Ovarian cancer affects one in 50 women, mostly in a silent fashion -- with no overt symptoms until it's often too late. And there is currently no accurate screening for this life-threatening disease that can have tragic outcomes.

Brown seems to be managing just fine with the cancer she calls "the disease that whispers." She is strong, spunky, enthusiastic and positive about life, about her future. She is clearly a winner.

Lori Raimondo set off on a cross country journey in May with the goal of raising $9,490 -- one dollar for every day that her mother battled breast cancer. And just yesterday, she reported that her trek is over, that she is back home in New York City after her amazing adventure in search of hope. I think she found the hope she was looking for because she not only met her goal -- she exceeded it. She raised a grand total of $12,610.90 while traveling 10,334 miles -- and every cent was donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation where hope for a cure just got a bit sweeter.

Lori coined her trip the Road for a Cure and what a road it was. She crossed many state borders, met charming and kind and outrageous locals, visited with friends along the way, ate at tucked-away restaurants and slept in quaint places, toured roadside stops, and while accompishing her fundraising chronicled it all through words and photographs that appear on her own personal blog. It's inspiring -- that Lori would give of her time and effort and spirit to help others. All in honor of her mother, who lost her battle with breast cancer, and in support of those currently fighting their own battles. I am truly thankful -- as a breast cancer survivor -- that the research that might one day save my life may be a result of Lori's courage and bravery and hard work and generosity.

Welcome home, Lori. And congratulations on a road well traveled.

Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson died Monday in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of 52. Hunt Lieberson battled breast cancer in the recent past and had canceled performances in 2005 and 2006 due to back problems -- yet no one was prepared for her death, which occured at her home with her husband by her side. The music world is shocked by her passing. There were no obvious warning signs because Hunt Lieberson often kept her health matters private. No public announcement regarding cause of death has been released.

Known for her beautiful voice -- and a repertoire that ranged from Baroque to contemporary -- the singer, a native of the San Francisco Bay area, began her career as a violist and later became a recitalist, a concert singer, and an operatic performer. She was powerful and polished in her unconventional opera delivery, says Richard Gaddes, director of the Santa Fe opera. She could take her audiences to depths so intense and so true, and her level of commitment will be very difficult to match. She was in a class of her own.

Lori is driving across the country trying to raise money -- $9,490 to be exact -- for breast cancer research. One dollar for every day that her mother battled breast cancer. And she is close. She has already raised $8,629.40 through sponsors and donations and has traveled a whopping 6,874 miles since she first hit the road in May. She's been through California and Nevada and North Dakota and Utah and Wyoming -- among other places. She camps and hikes and canoes and stops to see friends along the way. Like the friend she will visit today in Minnesota -- a friend who is surviving breast cancer. She stops at roadside attractions and restaurants and charming little overnight resorts. She stops for photos and to write on her blog -- and through it all, she reflects on the mother she lost almost one year ago. And she raises hope for others fighting breast cancer by giving 100 percent of her donations to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I am impressed. I am honored. I am in awe of what Lori is doing. Because I know I could never do it.

I don't like to travel -- and anything more than a three-hour trek in any direction, by any mode of transportation, is too much for me. And while I have traveled in my life to faraway places -- England, France, Germany, Italy, and more -- I do not enjoy any part of the process that gets me to and from my destinations. I'm not sure why. I just don't like it. But I admire those who venture to distant lands. And those who find excitement in a spontaneous trip. And those who tackle the long road across state lines for the pure thrill of it. And those -- like Lori -- who do it so others can benefit. So others can survive the disease that takes so many lives. The disease that took Lori's mom.