I've passed the two-year breast cancer survival mark and finally, I'm making a major life change. Why has it taken me so long? I'm not sure. I guess the time is right and it never was before. There's no reason to dwell on what I could have done sooner. What matters is that I'm taking charge right now.

First it was soda. I totally eliminated it from my diet. It wasn't such a big hurdle, though, because it was never much of a habit. But sweets -- another story entirely.

I love -- or shall I say loved -- sweets. Brownies, especially the gooey variety, were my favorite sugary treat. My oldest child loves them too and together, we would occasionally mix up a batch, wait impatiently while they baked, and then scarf down the whole pan.

There's a brownie mix in our pantry right now. Six-year-old Joey keeps asking me if we can make them. I keep telling him, "No, mommy is not eating sweets anymore." Which means he is not eating sweets anymore -- unless they come from a secret source. It's killing him that I won't give in and make our cherished chocolate dessert. So I promised him I will make the brownies one day soon. We have an upcoming party to attend and this will be my contribution. I just can't make them, keep them at home, and expect not to eat them.

It's been two weeks since I've consumed anything remotely sweet -- like candy, cakes, ice cream. I'm not counting sweeteners that are surely buried in the foods I normally eat -- I'll get there eventually -- but I am committed to passing on anything obviously dripping in sugar. That means no chocolate chip cookie bars that greeted me at work one day. No dipping into the mint bowls at restaurants. No bulk-sized bag of M&Ms sitting in my kitchen cupboard.

Nothing. I can't do it any other way. All or nothing. I'm going with nothing.

I like how I feel. The headaches I suspected were fueled by sugar are less frequent. My stomach feels less full. I know I am headed for better health. My kids are too. My body and my wallet should lighten up a bit too.

When I long for that sweet something, I reach for fresh fruit. Strawberries, apples, pears, bananas, and cantaloupe fill our kitchen now. Joey ate three bananas last night. I figure it would have been three brownies if he'd had the choice. For his sake and mine, I'm glad he didn't.

A little bit of education goes a long way, especially in the war against cancer. Armed with facts and figures and know-how, we can help advance prevention and early detection of this deadly disease.

So in the spirit of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, here are seven truths that serve to broaden your horizons about the third most common cancer found in men and women in this country.

As you read these truths, be aware that the death rate from colorectal cancer has been on a downward climb for the past 15 years due to better screening, fewer diagnosed cases, early detection, and more advanced treatment. Keep in mind that you can help keep this trend going by raising your own awareness and by taking action on behalf of yourself and your loved ones.

• Colorectal cancer refers to cancer that starts in the colon or rectum. These cancers begin in the digestive system where food is processed to create energy and rid the body of solid waste matter.

• Colorectal cancers develop slowly over a period of years and mostly begin in the form of polyps -- growths of tissue that start in the lining and grow into the center of the colon or rectum. Removing polyps early may prevent them from becoming cancerous. More than 95 percent of colon and rectal cancers are called adenocarcinomas.

• For people of average risk, screening is recommended beginning at age 50. Those whose risk is higher than average should talk with a physician about appropriate screening.

• Screening is used to detect disease in people who do not have any symptoms. In many cases, screening tests find colorectal cancers at an early stage and greatly improve the chances of successful treatment. Screening tests can prevent some cancers by allowing doctors to find and remove polyps that might become cancer. There are several tests used to look for colorectal cancer. Ask your doctor what test is best for you.

• Treatment for colorectal cancer includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and newer targeted therapies.

• The American Cancer Society predicts there will be 112,340 new cases of colon cancer and 41,420 new cases of rectal cancer in 2007 in the United States. Combined, the diseases will cause about 52,180 deaths.

• The Colorectal Cancer Coalition -- or C3 -- is a national organization whose mission is to eliminate suffering and death due to colon and rectal cancer through advocacy. Visit here for more information.

The material shared in this post was gathered from the websites of the American Cancer Society and the Colorectal Cancer Coalition.

"The normal response of prostate cells when male hormones are blocked is cell death," said George Kulik, assistant professor of cancer biology and senior researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "The cancer cells find a way to resist the treatment and we wanted to discover the mechanism."

Researchers have discovered the canny and shrewd way prostate cancer cells manage to defy death and become resistant to hormone treatment. The prostate cancer cells are using three separate pathways to send signals to cancer cells by inactivating a protein, BAD, meant to cause cell death.

If animal and human studies further prove what the researchers have discovered, new drug therapies could be developed to keep BAD active and doing its job in helping to destroy prostate cancer cells.

Chemotherapy is a good remedy for killing cancer cells -- and I hope every day that it did its job and killed all cancer cells that may have floated away from my original breast cancer tumor. But one not-so-good side effect of this good remedy is the beating that healthy cells take in the process of this life-saving treatment. It will be a red-letter day when chemotherapy can target only cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected. And this day may be a bit closer for patients in Taiwan who find they are in the early stages of relapse with nasopharynx cancer.

On Wednesday, National Taiwan University Hospital introduced a new high-tech laser procedure -- potassium-titanyl-phosphate or KPT -- to vaporize cancer cells. Doctors use a small endoscopic camera and easily manipulate the laser to precisely eliminate the cancer cells in the back of the nose and the soft roof of the mouth -- without harming healthy cells. The procedure takes roughly 90 minutes and requires a two-day stay in the hospital. This procedure should only be used in the early stages of relapse, though, and first-time cancer patients should still seek chemotherapy. And while those in later stages of relapse can still receive the treatment, it will only relieve discomfort without solving the problem.

To date, there have been 16 successful KPT treatments for this disease that about 1,000 people in Taiwan contract each year.

Remember Dolly the first successfully cloned sheep? In 1997, a scientist named Ian Wilmut stunned the world when he announced he had successfully cloned a sheep from an adult cell. With a new book, After Dolly, set for release on June 12, Wilmut is suggesting that we should seriously consider cloning babies to put an end to genetic disease. But Wilmut says he is not suggesting the practice of genetic enhancement to create designer babies. It certainly sounds like that is what he is saying when he suggests that parents, with the assistance of scientists, be allowed to combine the cloning of human embryos with genetic modification to eliminate hereditary disease. The process of creating designer babies is the same, the intent of purpose separated by a thin veil. Regardless of what he says he is or is not saying -- what he is describing is the eventuality of designer humans.

Wilmut states, "The use of genetic and reproductive technologies is not a step backward into darkness, but a step forward into the light." But in following Wilmut into his light, will our eventual fate be that of Icarus, who soared toward the sun on wax wings? I don't want to go all Luddite, but I am very uneasy about the ethics and where this all leads. And to take it to the next level, will there one day in the future be two races of humans? The genetically perfect designer human, and the genetically-imperfect unmodified human. How will it work? Who will decide? What do you think? 

There is valid concern regarding cancer-causing chemical pesticides used around the home and in the backyard vegetable garden. For the garden, many pests are drawn to unhealthy soils and plants, and as a result, the need for pesticide application increases to control damage done by garden invaders. However, if you keep your garden healthy, and implement the practice of companion planting, you might be able to reduce your use of toxic chemical pesticides to zero. Companion planting is the practice of growing plants close to each other that utilizes each plant's ability to protect the other plant by attracting beneficial insects and repelling harmful ones. Gardening organic is a satisfying cancer prevention way to get fresh vegetables to your dinner table.

For example, the Three Sisters gardening practice of North America Native Americans is organic and practical. Corn, squash, and climbing beans are grown close together. The corn provides a natural pole for the beans to climb, the beans provide needed nutrients for the soil and the squash acts as a spreading ground cover choking out weeds and protecting the soil from drying out too fast. A fish is planted in the soil to provide a natural fertilizer.

Yayasan IDEP Foundation offers a comprehensive companion planting chart, including an extensive list of tips on natural insect repellants for ants, aphids, cabbage butterfly, mosquitoes, moths, red spider, fleas, flies, slugs, snails and more -- to use around the home and to grow in your garden and yard. Available as a free PDF document, you can download the Companion Planting Chart here.