When my babies were born, those who promote breastfeeding as the only effective method for nourishing a child and preventing illness urged and pushed and prodded me to embrace their beliefs. I did believe them, never doubted them, and sometimes felt guilty I wasn't able to nurse my children -- a previous breast reduction surgery disabled my milk flow.

I got over it. Bottles and formula worked well for my family, allowed my husband to share middle-of-the-night feeding duties, and grew my two little boys into sturdy, healthy beings.

What I haven't completely gotten over is that breastfeeding could have done a whole lot of good for me too. It could have prevented the breast cancer I developed just after my second child stopped drinking formula from his bottle.

Research indicates breastfeeding can decrease the risk of breast cancer for women who have their first baby after age 25. I was 31 when my first child was born.

Previous studies showed that having a first baby before the age of 25 or having no children protected against breast cancers fueled by hormones. It did not, however, stop the less common, harder-to-treat tumors not fueled by hormones, like mine. It seems even breastfeeding would not have prevented my cancer.

That was then. This is now.

New studies show women who give birth after age 25 are twice as likely to develop either type of breast cancer. Therefore, breastfeeding really protects all women bearing children after 25 from both forms of the disease. It turns out breastfeeding could have helped me. But I couldn't do it. So it didn't.

What's done is done. I'll get over it. And I may just become one of those women who urge and push and prod others to embrace the benefits of breastfeeding.

It can be hard to remember when it's time for check-ups and exams and screenings. Many come just once each year and with the swift passage of time, it's easy to forget our medical to-do lists. But missing an appointment -- or even delaying one -- can lead to missed and delayed diagnoses. So remembering these easy-to-forget chores is key. And perhaps reminders are the key to remembering.

The American Cancer Society offers a free mammogram reminder in the form of e-mail message sent each year to remind women to schedule their mammograms. It takes just a moment to register with an e-mail address and a preferred month and day of the year for this e-mail to arrive. To register for your yearly reminder, click here.

The College of American Pathologists offers a free reminder service for the following appointments -- blood donation, cholesterol screening, colon cancer screening, diabetes test, pap test, and mammogram. Click here to choose one or more of these options that also require just just an e-mail address and preferred month and date for delivery.

So forget that string around your finger -- reach for your computer keyboard right now. It takes just a few keystrokes to ensure prompt testing for the health issues that if detected early, can save our lives.

Delaying treatments or surgeries to get second or third opinions or to make up your mind what is best for you, can really make a difference in surviving bladder cancer. However, sometimes postponing bladder cancer surgery might prove to be fatal. 

More than 61,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with bladder cancer in the United States in 2006. Although most cases are caught before the cancer has spread, about 20 percent of bladder cancers are diagnosed when they have already grown into or through the bladder wall. About half of patients with bladder cancer this advanced die within 5 years after surgery. Not delaying surgery is a simple thing doctors and patients can do to improve the chances a patient will survive.

Research found that delaying surgery more than 3 months led to a higher death rate. Three years after surgery, the death rate from bladder cancer was 51percent in patients who waited more than 3 months, compared to 38 percent in those who had surgery within 3 months.

In one study researchers found one reason for the delay was that the patients were getting second and third opinions to see if the surgery was really needed. Other studies found delays in surgery because patients had other medical problems. This might have caused the delay and perhaps made them less likely to have a good outcome. But in reviewing the charts, they found that other medical conditions were a problem in only 15 percent of patients who delayed surgery. Just 12 percent delayed treatment because they had trouble making a decision about it. Most of the delays -- 46 percent -- were caused by scheduling problems for tests as well as the surgery.