If you're a meat eater in Europe, here's a piece of news that might be cause for alarm: A dye used in many meats to give them that fresh-from-the-butcher look, particularly sausages, is under scrutiny after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced that they can no longer guarantee that the dye is safe to consume daily.

The dye, Red 2G is extracted from tar and was linked to cancer several years ago, though it's believed that use of the dye is not especially widespread and consumers shouldn't be worried -- just yet at least. The article also goes on to say that meat, after it's been butchered and packaged, often turns a brownish colour, and I don't know about you, but when I peruse the meat section at the supermarket, it all looks very red -- is this because of dye? And if so, should we North Americans be concerned too?

Six-year-old Joey told his doctor the other day about my cancer. The topic came up because Joey wore a pink tie-dye t-shirt in anticipation of a gymnastics meet we would attend later that day. The meet was dedicated to breast cancer awareness, and fans were encouraged to pack the place pink. Joey was ready.

Joey told the doctor all about his shirt. And all about me.

"My mom had cancer," he said. "But she survived."

He talked about everything I had to endure, about his surprise that I had to go through so much. He spoke lovingly, his doctor told me. She said he seemed proud.

Joey's doctor told me his eyes were full of emotion when he spoke about me and my cancer. She said he wasn't on the verge of tears, but he was surely passionate about his mom's victory over a disease he just barely comprehends.

And I am proud of Joey. I am proud of his loyalty, his support, his ability to express his emotions, his unwavering enthusiasm for all things pink.

Yes, I survived. Joey did too. And we are both tickled pink.

I told my six-year-old son today that on Friday, we will attend a University of Florida gymnastics meet. Not such a big deal in and of itself but the fact that the entire meet is dedicated to the battle against breast cancer is what makes my announcement to Joey so important. You see, Joey has been my faithful companion ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. He has been my link to all things simple. He has been my rock, my inspiration, my motivation to fight for my life.

I told Joey this sports event is a celebration of people with breast cancer, like me. And I told him everyone must wear pink, a color he knows well when it's twisted in ribbon formation. I eagerly awaited Joey's reaction to the whole pink thing, not because he has an aversion to pink but because his absolute favorite color is orange and he tends to choose this fabric selection whenever possible. But without hesitation, Joey was completely accepting of making a pink fashion statement.

I told Joey we would make shirts so we could be as pink as possible on Friday. So we bought white t-shirts and two shades of pink dye, and we will soon tie-dye our shirts for the festive occasion where both University of Florida and University of Kentucky gymnasts will wear pink leotards -- in different shades -- and where the fans will make donations to the local American Cancer Society.

Joey asked me while we shopped for our t-shirt supplies if lots of people have cancer.

"Yes," I told him, recalling a fact I had just learned -- 8.9 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer. "Lots of people have cancer."

I am not sure what this means to Joey. But I suspect his comprehension of the disease is limited to pink ribbons, bald heads, and periodic celebrations. If only cancer were that simple.

Cancer is not simple. But Joey helps me face each day with simplicity. And I can't wait to simply make a few t-shirts with him and then pack the place pink in honor of all the women who every day face the complexities of a fierce opponent.

Don't rule out coloring your hair for fear it may cause cancer -- because there's not much evidence at this point that hair dye causes the disease.

Even though 22 potentially cancer-causing hair dyes were banned in Europe recently, it does not appear that any of them are actually used in products in Europe and the United States, according to a news update in the January 2007 issue of Good Housekeeping.

And only one of these banned chemicals -- 2,3-Naphthalenediol -- is even listed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's voluntary cosmetics registry.

So if you must make a New Year's resolution come January 1, consider making changes that clearly help lower the risk of cancer. Eat healthy, exercise, lose excess weight, limit or cease alcohol consumption, and quit smoking for starters. Coloring your hair? Not so bad -- yet.

FREEEEEDOM! is the cry made famous with Mel Gibson's portrayal of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart. The movie stayed true to the reenactment of the Scottish warriors painting faces and chests a bright blue before battle to visually intimidate the enemy. The plant used to create the blue dye is called Woad.

While the ancient Scottish warrior Wallace met with a gruesome fate at the hands of the enemy, women in the modern world diagnosed with breast cancer might gain advantage in the war against cancer with the same plant used as an ancient blue dye in battle.

Italian researchers from the University of Bologna have discovered that the Woad plant, belonging to the same Brassicaceae plant family as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli, contains 20 times more glucobrassicin than broccoli. They also discovered that by wounding the Woad plant, they were able to increase the concentration of glucobrassicin seven times the normal level found in Woad. Glucobrassicin is known for its breast cancer-fighting abilities, and researchers are hopeful that isolating this compound will enable them to conduct clinical trials to better understand and clarify its effectiveness against cancer.

According to the Wikipedia entry on Woad, the first archaeological find of woad seeds were found in the French cave of l'Audoste, Bouches du Rhone. It is reported that Julius Caesar spoke of ancient Britons going into battle naked and using blue dye derived from Woad in face and body painting to terrify their opponents during battle. In addition, the blue dye from Woad was used as a tattooing ink and medicinally as an astringent.

Hair colorist Jason Backe hopes hair dye does not cause cancer -- because he is covered in it every day in the Manhattan hair salon where he works. But the topic of hair dye and cancer has been on his mind lately -- because he has been fielding questions from clients about the possible link between the two ever since an American Journal of Epidemiology study was released and caused nationwide panic about hair dye upping the odds that women might contract lymphoma -- a cancer of the lymphatic system. But on Thursday, a New York Times article summed up opinions from both experts and hair stylists, revealing that most everyone believes this panic is not necessary.

Recent studies found that those who had ever used hair dye were 1.19 times more likely to get lymphoma than those who had never used it. Those who colored their hair before 1980 -- before then-questionable chemicals were removed from hair dyes -- were 1.39 more times likely to get the disease. Ann Curry on the Today Show said, "These are scary numbers," but Dr. Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National Institute of Health said, "Compared to risk factors for other diseases, those numbers are very small." Smoking makes people 10 to 60 more times likely to get lung cancer. According to Dr. Joseph K. McLaughlin, president of the International Epidemiology institute, if these numbers are true -- and that's a big if -- it would mean that using hair dye may present a remote risk to your health. But it would still be less risky than crossing a street, driving a car, not wearing a seat belt, or drunk driving.

I am not exactly in a panic about this whole issue. But before I heard the news about hair dye and cancer, I did dye my hair -- once. And I don't think I will do it again -- even though the risk may be small -- because I have already had cancer. And any amount of risk associated with any type of cancer is just something I don't want to mess with.

I never colored my hair -- until after cancer, when my once-blond hair lost to chemotherapy grew in mousy brown with touches of gray. I thought it needed some spark and dazzle so I doused my head -- and my bathroom counter and walls too -- with hair dye in an effort to brighten up my look. It worked. And I like it. But I don't like what I've now heard about a possible link between hair dye and cancer. And this is what I told a reporter from the New York Times who called me the other day. She had read my post here on the Cancer Blog about this news story -- about hair dye and cancer -- and she wanted to know more about my personal feelings as a cancer survivor and as a person with colored hair.

I told this reporter that it's a bit ironic that in 36 years, I had never applied hair dye to my hair and that only after cancer did I take the plunge -- only to learn that hair dye may be cancer causing. I told her that I wouldn't do it again -- dye my hair -- although I don't think one application of coloring chemicals will really affect me when research indicates a risk only when women use hair dye 12 or more times. But still, I don't choose to take even the smallest of risks when it comes to my health -- which has already been compromised once. I told the reporter that I have not witnessed any widespread panic among the public about this issue. And I think the people I know who color their hair will continue to do so. That's okay with me. Because when it comes down to it, I am responsible for my hair only, my health only, my life only. That's really all I can manage.

And once my colored hair grows out -- the colored hair that was photographed today for the story this reporter is writing -- I'll manage to live on with my mousy brown hair with natural gray highlights. It won't have much spark or dazzle. But it will be safe.

I woke yesterday morning to voices on the Today Show telling me that the use of hair dye is linked to incidences of lymphoma -- a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. I know I've heard in the past about the possible link between cancer and the chemicals that add color to hair -- but the connection has never been revealed as very strong and the topic did not ever apply to me so I filed the information in the back of my mind. But now, it appears the link may be stronger than originally thought -- and I recently dyed my own post-chemo brown hair -- so I listened more intently this time and learned about the study that implies that touching up my roots may not be a wise practice.

The results of a European study, appearing in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, reveal that roughly 10 percent of lymphomas in women could be caused by the use of hair dyes. The data suggest a small increase in risk -- and clearly more research is necessary -- but what researchers have found is that for the women who have dyed their hair more than 12 times, the risk is highest. And those who colored their locks before 1980 have the greatest risk. Since 1980, chemicals thought to be cancer-causing were eliminated from dyes -- although it is still not definite whether or not current hair dyes are risk-free. It is definite, say researchers, that further study of this topic is important. In the meantime, I think I will let my artificial reddish chestnut hues fade away while I enjoy the plain brown hair that covers my once-bald scalp.

Last week I noted that Wal-Mart was pulling nine brands of children's clothing off store shelves in China when it was found the clothes to be contaminated with a cancer-causing dye. I posted it primarily because the Wal-Mart spokesperson in China declined comment when asked if the children's clothing had been exported to the U.S. I felt it a good idea for parents here to be on alert.

Within hours of that post, I was contacted via email by Marshall Manson of Edelman, who handles the online public affairs for Wal-Mart, sharing a statement being made by the Wal-Mart spokesperson here in the U.S. saying Wal-Mart was reasonably sure that the cancer-causing children's clothing could not have been exported from China. Because Wal-Mart was not 100 percent sure that the clothing in question had not made its way to store shelves here in the U.S., I asked Manson to contact me when Wal-Mart had finished its internal assessment of the situation. This morning, Manson emailed again. "I wanted to follow up with you and let you know definitively that none of the children's clothes in question in the story that you originally blogged about were exported to the United States. None." Wal-Mart in China has concluded its investigation into the matter and no clothing contaminated with the cancer-causing dye was shipped to the U.S. There you go, now we know for certain.

And while you might be thinking that I am receiving my information from someone who works on behalf of presenting Wal-Mart in the best possible light -- well yes I am -- but here's my thought about that. Truth never stays hidden forever, and would you want to knowingly mislead a blogger? No, I don't think so. All my gut instinct tells me Manson is being straight-forward and forth-coming with the information he has provided in this matter.

Hours ago, I told you about Wal-Mart's announcement that it will no longer sell children's clothes found to be contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. The nine brands of children's clothing were sold in stores in China. I then went on to tell you that the public relation spokesperson for Wal-Mart in China declined to state whether or not the same brands of children's clothing had found their way onto U.S. Wal-Mart store shelves. I pondered aloud in the prediction that the public would be hearing from Wal-Mart here in the U.S. regarding this matter -- sooner rather than later.

Wal-Mart has announced it will no longer sell children's clothing found to be contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. According to the Beijing News, the stores, located in China, were selling nine different brands of children's clothing that contained a dye that has been identified as a carcinogen and linked to cancer. The public relation spokesperson for Wal-Mart in China declined to state whether or not the same brands of children's clothing had found their way onto U.S. Wal-Mart store shelves. Although I am certain we will soon hear from a Wal-Mart public relation spokesperson here in the U.S. regarding this matter.