The Young Survival Coalition's Diversity Program aims to foster a committed, connected and diverse community for young women affected by breast cancer. The Diversity Committee brings together women of color, women who partner with women, women of various socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures and disabilities.

As a collective, this committee works to create programs and to establish partnerships to work towards ensuring that all young women affected by breast cancer, in all communities, have access to the information and support they need.

Specific topics include:

• Diversity
• Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender
• Asian
• Black/African Descent
• Latina

High in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, this healthy recipe is one worth trying. It's easy too. I love easy.

Black Bean Chili

8 ounces lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cans black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup water

Studies show that diets high in fiber and low in fat can help prevent cancer. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but tempeh is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. It has a higher content of protein, dietary fiber and vitamins compared to tofu. In the past five years tempeh has grown so much in popularity that it is now available in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets. Here is a simple way to prepare tempeh that both kids and adults love.

Vicki's Spicy Tempeh Soft Tacos
Serves 4

1 block tempeh crumbled
1/2 vegetable broth or water
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (can leave out if you don't want spicy)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cooked black beans or pinto beans drained
1 tomato chopped
handful chopped lettuce
grated hard soy cheese if you want vegan or cheddar if vegetarian
8 whole wheat tortillas

Recipe directions

Saute the tempeh in the olive oil on medium low heat for about 3 minutes. Add red pepper and onion and continue to saute for about 5 minutes more. Add the spices, 1/2 cup broth or water and the beans and cook for about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Serve in the tortillas with the chopped lettuce, tomato and cheese.

The racial gap is constantly narrowing in most aspects of North American society, except in one respect: Cancer. According to studies, the life spans of white women with breast cancer are continually on the rise, while the life spans of black women with cancer have pretty much remained stagnant. The average span of survival from the time of diagnosis in white women increased from 20 to 27 months, while in black women, it only increased from 16 to 17 months.

Any causal relationship at this time is only speculation, but it's thought it has to do with accessibility of healthcare between races. For white women, only 11% lack healthcare insurance, while 20% of black women do. Distrust of the healthcare system is also a speculated cause.

UVB radiation is thought to be the most dangerous light in the solar spectrum. Scientists think that UVB light causes most of the non-melanoma skin cancers.

When you're exposed to UVB radiation for a period of time, it inflames the skin and causes sunburn. Squamous cell carcinoma is diagnosed in about 250,000 people each year in the United States. The cancer can arise from the inflammation of the skin by possible DNA damage.

Even though the scientist's discovery was only so far seen in mice, the researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center say that a topical compound made of black raspberries significantly slows the growth of Squamous cell skin cancer.

The scientists think that the cancer fighting effects are a result of powerful antioxidants called anthacyanins that give the fruit its rich, dark color. The researchers said "In our experiments, the black raspberry treatment significantly reduced inflammatory damage and reduced tumor growth and spread".

In the future the researchers hope to have a topical treatment for humans that will alleviate pain and also protect against sun damage.

Don't give up that daily cup of coffee just yet. Studies show drinking coffee may reduce your risk of developing Parkinson's disease, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and colon cancer. It's even been linked to a decreased risk of inflammatory and cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Why? According to an article in the March 2007 issue of Ladies Home Journal, it's because coffee contains large amounts of flavonoids and antioxidants -- and these combat a whole bunch of illnesses.

Now drinking too much coffee can have adverse side effects, like restlessness, anxiety, and headaches, but limiting yourself to one to four brewed cups per day seems to be a safe practice. Although for those with high blood pressure, consuming between two to four cups per day maybe a bit risky because coffee causes blood pressure to rise immediately after consumption. And all coffee drinkers should fight the urge to add sugar, flavored syrup, and whole milk to to their beverages.

A daily cup of tea seems to be healthy too. Researchers are investigating its use in the prevention of cancer, and we already know both black and green tea have significant quantities of disease-fighting flavonoids -- although not as much as coffee.

Not everyone buys into the power of pink when it comes to breast cancer.

Pink ribbons, pink teddy bears, pink hats, shirts, scarves, socks, purses, jewelry, magnets, and even cooking appliances have monopolized the breast cancer market. And some people just plain refuse to associate the disease with anything remotely sweet, soft, and soothing.

Think about this:

Annette`s Angels, founded in 2006 by the children of Annette Roberta, love and applaud the effectiveness of the flood of pink used to raise awareness about a disease that took Roberta after a 15-year battle.

But they refuse to embrace any color but black as they proceed to kick breast cancer in the butt. Black reflects their anger at breast cancer. And their power to fight it.

Annette's Angels are committed to fighting this terrible disease, and they invite us all to shop at their online store, where some items -- there's just no way around it really -- are pink. The angels will donate 50 percent of all profits to FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, the only resource of its kind for those facing genetic breast and ovarian cancers.

Seven years ago, my husband and I owned a Mustang GT. A black one with black leather interior. Our car was clean and waxed and clear of clutter. It was small and sporty and we loved it. Others loved it. We were cool. We thought so, anyway.

We don't think we are so cool now, however. We are happy, with our two children, our dented and dirty Honda Odyssey mini-van, and all the gear -- books, toys, wet wipes, a scooter, a Big Wheel, and even a little potty -- that fills the vast space of our latest vehicle. But I am not sure anyone would ever call us cool as we cruise around town in our family ride.

My husband, John, dreams of getting another Mustang. And he's primed our three-year-old son for the same dream. Danny can spot a Mustang a mile away, regardless of its year, its color, or its condition. He loves a rag-top. He prefers yellow. And he promises to buy his daddy a black Mustang as soon as he wins the lottery.

I told John last night that Ford is about to release a new Mustang, with both the exterior paint and interior stitching trimmed in pink. "Let's get it," John said, without hesitation. He isn't worried he'll look less than macho in a pink Mustang. He just wants one. And while his intentions faded a bit when he learned Ford will offer only V6 models, he still thinks a pink pony car is a cool concept.

Not everyone likes the idea of a Mustang marketed at women, says analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids who adds that the Mustang is an iconic brand based on a special mix of speed and testosterone. Ford should not mess with success, he believes.

But Ford expects its Warriors in Pink trim package, slated to release this summer, to be nothing short of a success -- in more ways than one.

A portion of Mustang profits will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research. Ford has long been a sponsor of this organization and over the years has donated $87 million. In addition, the pink initiative could attract new buyers to the car, marked by slipping sales in recent months.

While all details have not been released, the newest Mustang will be available in a few colors, and customers will have the choice of convertible or hardtop.

As Leroy Sievers says, "Most of you know me as someone with cancer. Google my name -- and yes, I confess, I've done that -- more often than not, it comes up linked to one other word: cancer. But what about all the other things I've been?"

Sievers has been a journalist for most of his adult life. He's also been a baker, a short-order cook, a teacher, and an aspiring author. Yet cancer is the word most often used to describe this man.

But maybe not for long.

Could it be that Sievers -- a man whose life has been derailed by a deadly cancer traveling throughout his body, a man who has been contemplating death with each passing day -- may soon be rid of cancer altogether?

Actually, Sievers already sees glimpses of cancer falling to the wayside.

Having undergone a new procedure called Radio Frequency Ablation -- where needles are stuck into tumors, burning them away from the inside out -- Sievers sees a brighter future. He's seen his latest scans. He's seen the black holes where tumors once lived. He's seen that no new tumors have appeared. He's seen that he may actually survive cancer.

Months ago, this man, who blogs his cancer journey for NPR, was told he would likely not survive the year. Now he realized he may outlive this prediction. And while this is great news, Sievers finds himself a bit unsure about a life without cancer.

"Will I be somebody who used to have cancer?" he says. "I think most cancer patients don't ever think it's really gone. It's just hiding, waiting to jump out and scare us when we least expect it. Will I be able to resume my old life? To rebuild my battered body into what it was before? I don't know. But I know this disease has changed me dramatically in so many ways. I am a different person. Hopefully a better person. You cannot go through an ordeal like this and not be profoundly affected."

Now that's what a call a fresh perspective.

To read previously-written posts about Leroy Sievers, click here.

The second issue of the magazine Beyond: Live & Thrive After Breast Cancer will hit newsstands March 20.

The magazine, one of many targeting individuals with manageable conditions and diseases, such as allergies, heart disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, stands out as an upbeat, positive, feel-good package of information and inspiration.

University of Mississippi journalism professor Samir Husni says magazines of this sort that succeed are the ones offering up a good dose of chicken soup for the soul. This is definitely a magazine good for the soul.

Beyond editor Martha Miller Johnson calls the magazine a purveyor of hope and information, a source of reliable facts, figures, and features for the growing community of survivors living with breast cancer. Beyond is for "the women who has been through her initial treatment and now sees her life through a different prism," says Johnson.

"Her body's changed, her skin's changed. To her, it's not a death sentence; it's a condition she just has to live with. More and more women are living with breast cancer."

The soon-to-be-released publication spotlights breast cancer survivor Deanna Favre with husband Brett Favre and includes stories about breast cancer and black women, chemotherapy and weight gain, and the most important questions to ask your doctor.

Why pick up a copy of Beyond's Spring/Summer issue this March 20? Because breast cancer attacks so many aspects of our well-being, says one survivor of the disease.

"It's your identity, it's your sexuality, it's your womanhood. Fertility. For many of us, it throws us into menopause early," she says. "Every aspect of your emotional and psychological well-being is impacted by cancer and the treatment. So that kind of puts it in its own category, I think. So you combine that with the fact that there are so many women going through it, and I think you do have a market there for something like this."

I couldn't have said it better.

Some scientists believe that surgery to remove a breast tumor may actually help the cancer spread and have recently reported that this same belief may be the exact reason black women are more likely to die of breast cancer.

There is apparently a widespread belief in parts of Africa and the United States that removing a tumor hastens death.

"I must say that I am sure there is more to this than just a myth," said Michael Retsky of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, who shares his opinions in the International Journal of Surgery.

Retsky still urges any woman with breast cancer to have her tumor removed. And he says chemotherapy is such standard practice for any cancer threatening to spread. It's a safety net of sorts to catch the cells that get away. So if surgery causes cancer to spread, then in theory, chemotherapy should stop the spread.

Retsky, who is not suggesting any change in clinical practice, thinks the subject needs far more research. American Cancer Society experts, who tend to question this theory, agree.

"Whether or not the theory is correct, I have difficulty with the logic that they employed to get there," said oncologist Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society who says women should never delay treatment for breast cancer.

Retsky believes that perhaps surgery, by wounding the body, causes it to produce growth factors that fuel the growth of other, tiny tumors. Or maybe a primary tumor secretes some sort of factor that holds the other tumors in check. When the main tumor is removed, the smaller tumors grow.

But it could be that surgery does not cause a spread at all – and that any belief of this nature has no connection with breast cancer tendencies in black women. It may be that black women just have a genetic predisposition for more aggressive forms of the disease.

Barbara McNair, 72, started out as a nightclub singer and moved into film and TV as more opportunities for black women opened up in the 1960's. She eventually hosted her own show in 1969 called The Barbara McNair Show.

Her best known film role came as Sidney Poitier's wife in the classic crime drama They Call Me Mister Tibbs. She played on Broadway, posed in Playboy and was cast along Elvis Presley in his last film, Change of Habit. She also accompanied Bob Hope on a tour of Vietnam.

Barbara died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, her husband said.

Researchers from Dartmouth Medical School say they have a new way of identifying a deadly form of breast cancer that plagues 17 to 37 percent of all breast cancer patients and mostly premenopausal black women.

Identification comes in the form of locating the marker nestin -- a long filamentous protein indicating the presence of basal epithelial tumors -- which makes this type of cancer hard to diagnose and hard to treat. It also puts patients at high risk for recurrence, marked by a very short time between treatment and relapse.

"Ideally, a marker like nestin would enable clinicians to monitor these patients through frequent tests of a biomarker and, in doing so, detect the cancer before it has a chance to come back," says one professor.

Researchers must now find an effective means of detecting nestin in a clinical screening setting. It won't be as simple as a blood test -- but a non-invasive collection of mammary duct samples may enable the development of a screening tool for at-risk patients.

CBS 60 Minutes newsman Ed Bradley lost his life to leukemia on November 9, 2006. And ever since news of his death reached the world, reactions have been overwhelming -- and like nothing correspondent Lesley Stahl has even seen.

"I've been around here a long time and there was a quality of reaction from the public that was personal in a way I can't explain and everyone here has had the same thing," she said. "We have all been flooded with e-mails."

Bradley was the king, says his former correspondent Bob Simon. "He had the most authoritative presence and style on the broadcast and that's not replaceable," he said.

Faced with the huge loss of Bradley, CBS won't even bother to replace him in the middle of the TV season. Instead, his workload will be spread around -- a unique arrangement for 60 Minutes -- for as long as it takes to find the next full-time person armed with the ability to take on Bradley's correspondent role.

Bradley's death also robs 60 Minutes of its only on-screen black correspondent. And while it's important to represent diversity, the powers that be believe it would be a mistake to fill the spot with someone just for the sake of addressing the issue.

So those at CBS will just wait for the right person to come along -- while they collectively grieve for the right person they just lost.

Rock legend Black Sabbath Ozzy Osbourne spoke about his wife Sharon's colon cancer diagnosis during a recent interview with Hello! magazine, in which he is quoted as saying, "When I found out it was like someone had got a slab of concrete and hit me with a big dose of reality. I thought cancer plus patient equals death. The thought of losing her was more than I could bear."

In 2002, the entire Osbourne family appeared in a MTV reality show The Osbournes. During the taping, Sharon was diagnosed with colon cancer. Rather than cancel the show, she agreed to share the experience of chemotherapy and cancer survivorship with the viewers to help raise awareness for cancer.

Osbourne said that while he is always happy for the professional success his wife enjoys with such shows as the U.K. talent show X Factor and The Sharon Osbourne Show, he misses the time away from her.

Ozzy has designed a limited-edition signature series t-shirt for the Hard Rock Cafe, with profits from the sale of the t-shirts to benefit the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program. The cancer charity offers colonoscopies and screenings to people without medical insurance, as well as those with minimal coverage, transportation to chemotherapy for patients and nursing consultation to those in need of assistance with their aftercare.

Now a four-year colon cancer survivor, Sharon's life philosophy is simple: "live everyday to the fullest, and don't save for tomorrow what you can do today." Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are featured on the cover of the February 2007 issue of Hello! magazine.