There are four pages in the March 2007 Reader's Digest featuring amazing discoveries, devices, tests, and cures. And many of the snippets of information are -- yes -- somehow linked to cancer.

Think about this:

• A new ultrasound technique lets radiologists distinguish between malignant and benign breast lesions. Using elasticity imaging, researchers accurately identified harmless and cancerous lesions in almost all of the 80 cases studied. If results can be reproduced in a large trial, this technique could significantly reduce the number of breast biopsies required.

• Scientists seeking new treatment for diseases can use an online tool developed by researchers at MIT and Harvard. The Connectivity Map matches diseases with compatible drugs, based on the genetic profiles of both. So far, about 160 drugs and compounds are cataloged, and a few new uses for existing drugs have already been suggested. Eventually, all FDA-approved drugs will be included.

• For those who sometimes forget to take their pills, a new device -- that can be preloaded with up to 100 doses of medication -- could one day be implanted in the body and programmed to administer drugs via wireless signals. This device, successful in tests using dogs, was designed to deliver medicines that are less effective when taken orally.

Sometimes it seems cancer's grip is tightening. Other times, in the war against this pesky disease, it seems we are on the verge of something really great.

She doesn't have breast cancer. But she did have both breasts removed and reconstructed in January to ensure as much as she can that she will never develop the disease that has struck both her mother and father.

It's the dad connection that puts René Syler, former anchorwoman for The Early Show, at such risk for breast cancer. That and the dozens of microcalcifications -- these can indicate cancer -- that repeatedly revealed themselves on mammograms and the diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia that increases the risk of cancer. And while cancer was never diagnosed for this woman who was sure the disease would one day catch up with her, Syler is no stranger to the world of biopsies. And her breasts -- misshapen, shriveled, collapsed, and scarred from so many surgical procedures -- were proof of her frequent rides on the breast cancer merry-go-round.

Now Syler's breasts are gone. And she is breathing a great big sigh of relief. She calls her new "girls" incredible. And she calls her new mood "good."

"I see now that the specter of breast cancer has been permeating my life," says Syler whose story appears in the April 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine and whose book Good-Enough Mother will be published in April.

"I couldn't really live because I was always playing defense -- watching and waiting, wondering if this would be the year I'd be diagnosed."

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.

Cervical cancer was once the most common cancer in women. But between 1955 and 1992, the number of cervical cancer deaths dropped by 74 percent -- thanks to increased use of the Pap test, a screening tool that can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops and can also detect cancer in its most curable stage. The Pap test is still widely used. And the cervical cancer death rate continues to drop four percent every year.

In 2006, about 9,700 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. About 3,700 women will die from the disease. Non-invasive cervical cancer is believed to be four times more common than the invasive form of the disease. Nearly all of these cases can be cured.

Cervical cancer typically occurs in women between the ages of 35 and 55 and rarely in women under the age of 20. It affects mostly Hispanic women, and African-American women develop the disease 50 percent more often than non-Hispanic white women. Women most as risk for cervical cancer are smokers, those with HIV or chlamydia infections, those with diets low in fruit and vegetable consumption, those who between 1940 and 1971 took the hormonal drug DES, and those who have taken oral contraceptives for extended periods of time. Women who have had multiple pregnancies, have a family history of the disease, and have a low socio-economic status are also at risk. Those most at risk, however, are women with human papilloma virus.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common risk factor for cervical cancer, and some experts believe a woman must have HPV to contract cervical cancer. There are 100 different types of HPV, 13 of which are likely to cause cervical cancer through sexual contact. There are usually no symptoms of HPV, but possible signs of cervical cancer can include vaginal bleeding, unusual discharge, pelvic pain, and pain during sexual intercourse.

There are two ways to stop cervical cancer. First, women can protect themselves against HPV. Protection comes in the form of delaying sexual activity, limiting the amount of sexual partners and their partners, using condoms (thought to be 70 percent effective) and receiving the cervical cancer vaccine, recommended for use in females ages 11-26. The vaccine is most effective for women who have never been sexually active. Second, women can receive regular Pap tests in order to catch pre-cancers. Pap tests are recommended for women three years after their first sexual encounter and before the age of 21 -- and then every year after that.

An abnormal Pap test typically prompts a colposcopy -- a technique that uses a scope to examine the cervix. Diagnosis usually stems from a combination of other scoping methods, pelvic exams, imaging tests, and biopsies used to confirm the presence of cancer and to stage the disease. Stages range from 0-4.

For non-invasive cervical cancer, surgery -- ranging from removal of the cancerous tissue to hysterectomy -- may be the only treatment necessary. For invasive forms of the cancer, surgery is often followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Women interested in preserving their fertility should discuss options with their physicians.

The state of cervical cancer has come a long way over the years. And this year, two critical developments emerged. In June 2006, the FDA approved the first drug for late-stage cervical cancer. The drug, Hycamtin, is recommended for use in combination with chemotherapy. Also is June, the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, was released. Both developments are monumental -- and both will undoubtedly help decrease the already-dropping cervical cancer death rate.

For more information about cervical cancer, visit the following sites:

American Cancer Society
Mayo Clinic
Medline Plus
National Women's Health Information Center

Inflammatory breast cancer accounts for only 1 percent of all breast cancers -- yet this disease that mostly affects young women and teenagers can be especially aggressive. And sadly, many of the symptoms  -- inflammation, irritation, itching, redness, blotching, and increase in size -- are mistaken for infection. Not until further, more serious symptoms arise does breast cancer become a possible explanation. A breast may become firmer, warmer, and may grow in size more each day. Although distinct lumps are not apparent, the skin may become dimpled and increased tenderness can occur. Large veins may surface, and cancer may spread in sheets or nests instead of from a solid tumor -- making it virtually impossible to detect a lump. While mammograms are usually ineffective for detecting this cancer, certain biopsies and MRI testing can reveal and confirm a diagnosis -- which years ago was much scarier than it is today with new studies and research and therapies that can better fight this aggressive form of cancer.

A combination of the drugs Lapatinib and Capecitabine have been used to treat inflammatory breast cancer in women who have not responded to standard therapies. And this combination is doubling the patient's survival time. Like like the drug Herceptin -- used for many young women with another aggressive form of breast cancer -- these drugs may be the innovative new approach for saving even more young women.