Cancer stopped me from having a third child -- not physically, but mentally. Still, it hasn't taken away my ability to witness first-hand the miracle of childbirth, to hold a brand new baby in my arms, to lose myself in the wonder of an innocent and unburdened life.

Yesterday, my sister had her second baby girl. I was there -- from morning until evening, while she labored for 12 hours and then delivered a perfect, pink, precious bundle of hope. The whole journey made me cry. I cried for the sheer pleasure of being in the room for such a special occasion, for holding my sister's numb and heavy leg in the correct position, for watching a baby plunge into the world, for cutting the umbilical cord. I cried for the pain my sister endured, for the joy of new beginnings, for all that comes next.

For a moment while I held my new niece, I longed for my own baby. Then thoughts of cancer flooded my mind -- combined with thoughts of sleepless nights and endless shrieks and temper tantrums -- and I realized I am happy just as I am, with my own two little boys and a sweet baby girl I plan to borrow as much as possible.

Welcome to the world, Tori!

Sadly, another cancer death has occurred -- this one caused by leukemia and ending the life of Arthur Lee. Lee, eccentric singer and guitarist with the 1960s rock band Love, died Thursday at the age of 61. His death was shocking to many who knew him because he had the ability to bounce back from just about everything. Leukemia was usually no exception. But recently, Lee, who was diagnosed this year with acute myeloid leukemia, was not faring well after three rounds of chemotherapy failed. And despite a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from an umbilical cord -- the first of its kind for an adult in Tennessee -- Lee could not overcome cancer.

Lee, a Memphis native, called himself "the first so-called black hippie." In 1965, he formed Love -- the first multiracial rock band of the psychedelic era -- and his groundbreaking albums featured a blend of folk rock, blues, and early punk. Lee is remembered for his hit singles My Little Red Book and Revelation, for influencing bands like Led Zeppelin and Echo, and for spending six years in prison during the 1990s for firing a pistol into the air.

After his release from prison in 2001, Lee formed a new version of Love and performed in Europe and North America. And then others -- like former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant -- performed for him this June in benefit concerts to raise money to help Lee with his medical bills.

Arthur Lee died in at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis -- with his wife Diane at his side.

Parents may want to save their kids' baby teeth for more than just nostalgic reasons -- they may want to save them because they are rich in stem cells and the pulp tissue could provide the means to treatment for injuries and disease. BioEden Inc. is a new company out of Austin, Texas pioneering this effort that is so new some doubt science will ever catch up with the expectations of this firm. But President Jeff Johnson says all evidence indicates that baby teeth are a wonderful source of stem cells -- cells that doctors and researchers pursue for their capability of replicating and morphing into specialized cells that can be used to repair the body. Experts think baby teeth stem cells might one day be used for bone, teeth, and even nerve cell regeneration which could hold potential for spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Parents may find brochures in their dentist offices featuring the benefits of banking their children's teeth once they fall out. And pursuing tooth banking is no different than pursuing any other dental procedure. There are fees involved, of course -- banking fees and perhaps referral fees from dental offices -- and other considerations that each parent must weigh. Dr. Phil Hunke, president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and pediatric dentist for 32 years, says the idea of removing cells and freezing them holds true promise -- and he may want to bank the tooth of a child or grandchild once he learns more. Dr. Kevin Donly, a professor of pediatric dentistry, says he sees some potential but will not be banking teeth for his three little boys. He just doesn't think he's at the point where it's necessary. Another pediatric dentist -- Dr. John Updyke -- believes that if money were not an issue, all parents should bank their kids' teeth. But many young families can't afford the initial $595 and the $89 annual storage cost it requires. And without a solid scientific backing, tooth banking might not come up as a priority for many when it may take 10 years or more to even determine how useful these specific stem cells will be.

I was present for death only one time in my 36 years of life. I consider this both a bad and a good thing. It's bad because I did not want my grandmother to die -- and watching it happen made it so real, so vivid, so painful. I don't think I would have ever chosen to watch my grandma die -- to watch her slip from consciousness to coma, to observe her altered body once death arrived, to witness the movement of her body on a stretcher as it was wheeled out of the house from the bedroom I still see every time I visit my mom's house. But I think I am lucky really -- and this is the good part -- because I got to be with her during her final moments. I got to watch her body as it lay still, peaceful and calm and still breathing. I got to talk to her and although she could not respond, I believe she could hear my words. And it makes me happy to know my grandma may have known I was with just prior to her flight to heaven. And after her flight, I got to touch her cool hands. I got to feel the power of the passing of one life -- a long life -- and I got to feel the comfort of a death that was not ugly or painful or difficult. It was sad -- it's still sad -- that my grandma died three years ago. But what a privilege it was to be part of the day she left this world.

Susan DeWilde left this world in much the same way -- with loved ones by her side. She was a fighter and had conquered several rounds of breast cancer, a tumor in her spinal cord, uterine cancer, lymphatic cancer, and then leukemia, which took her life at the age of 53. I don't know this from Susan herself but from her friend, Christy Mack -- who helped her accept her death and guided her into her own final moments so that she could escape her pain and die peacefully. Christy writes about her beautiful friend and her empowering death in an article that appears in the August 2006 Oprah Magazine. Titled Friends to the End, Christy's story details how she soothed her friend, cradled her hand, and talked her through her last breaths. She helped her on her way during a time her friend feared most. Christy writes, "What she and I shared the night she died was a precious gift of friendship, emotionally profound and sacred in its perfection. It broke my heart. It strengthened my soul."

This I understand.

It's almost impossible to think of anything associated with cancer that could come to any good, but researchers have discovered a cancer-causing protein that might help in the treatment of spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer's disease. According to the Columbia University Medical Center researchers, the same process this protein, called Id, uses in the growth of cancer could also potentially be used to re-grow axons that are damaged in spinal cord injuries and neurological diseases. This cancer-causing protein, Id, is found in brain and breast cancers.

In discovering and understanding how Id works, they have also found that an enzyme in healthy cells, called APC, breaks Id down. Cancer cells have a high level of Id in each cell. The researchers will conduct studies on how to harness APC and potentially eliminate Id in cancer cells. Hopefully their hunch will lead to something that can become part of how we eventually stop cancer. When I read about this is occurred to me that researchers are making new discoveries almost constantly that give them a better understanding of how cancer works, which I do believe is ultimately how we solve any problem. However, it will be more exciting when the discoveries finally move beyond the isn't this interesting phase to practical application.