Ever wonder what fish to eat, what fish to avoid, what fish is healthy, what fish is cancer-causing? I do.

I'm looking into this whole fish thing. And while my search for information is in no way exhaustive and my findings are far from conclusive, I have found some interesting fishy facts and figures.

Think about this:

Fish definitely has health benefits. It's low in fat, high in protein, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Americans love this. How do I know? Because on average, each of us eats a record 16.6 pounds of fish every year. Our intake of shrimp and salmon has doubled, in fact, since 1994.

Fish definitely has its drawbacks too. Headlines repeatedly warn us of dangerous contaminants in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Don't forget about mercury, the biggest fish health hazard. It's been linked to neurological problems in developing fetuses and children, making consumption of shark, swordfish, tilefish (aka golden snapper or golden bass), king mackeral, canned albacore tuna, and tuna steaks a no-no for hoards of women and children.

For just about everyone else, the benefits of eating moderate amounts of seafood greatly outweigh the risks. Just watch out for those PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) -- possible carcinogenic chemical compounds that end up in some seafood.

To avoid PCBs, steer clear of farmed salmon which contains high levels of these compounds or limit your intake to less than one single eight-ounce meal per month. Opt for the wild variety of salmon to avoid this concern altogether. Or take the side of the FDA. Their reports say salmon is a powerhouse when it comes to protecting heart and developing cancer from this source is much lower than the risk of heart disease.

Source: Good Housekeeping, April 2007

We cannot be silent is one slogan printed on specialty clothing offered by a company called Privacy. Other slogans include United We Cure and Mission. Purpose. Cure.

The slogans say a lot -- but the accomplishments of Carolyn Jones, Founder and President/CEO of Privacy, say a whole lot more.

Think about this:

Jones lost her mother to breast cancer on November 16, 2000 during a time when too many questions about the disease were left unanswered and not enough options were available for women fighting for their lives.

Times have changed, in part due to outspoken pioneers like Jones, who are spreading the word and funding the cause.

Part of the Privacy corporate goal is to support medical research and to educate women about early detection and treatment.

"It is very clear that more information and research is needed due to the yearly increase in new cases nationally," says Jones who cites statistics such as this: every 12 minutes a woman in America will die from complications associated with breast cancer. And this: more than 1,500 new cases of male breast cancer will be diagnosed this year.

Privacy, a California-based company with a social conscious, offers for both women and men an assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, hats, recommended books, accessories, breast cancer facts, and even a contest or two. A portion of all profits are donated to breast cancer initiatives with an emphasis on low-income and uninsured populations.

Check it all out right here.

Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer recurrence has the disease once again dominating newspapers, magazines, television programs, and conversations.

Just two days ago, I heard a run-down of facts about breast cancer. They were shared to raise awareness, and while I was already aware of most of them, it's still quite sobering to hear some of the statistics that surround a disease that lands in the laps of more than 200,000 American women every year.

Think about these -- three powerful truths that happen to stick in my mind at this very moment:

The highest risk of breast cancer belongs to those older than 60.

Nearly 85 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

And tragically, every three minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Photographer Paula Lerner was diagnosed with breast cancer just after beginning work on Why We Walk: The Inspirational Journey Toward a Cure for Breast Cancer -- a book that captures through photographs the momentum of millions who year after year crowd America's streets and walk to conquer this disease.

A peek into this book is offered in the form of an online slide show, hosted by the Washington Post. Set to inspiring music and lyrics and lasting just three minutes and 59 seconds, this media presentation tells a story about a disease that strikes every three minutes and kills every 14 minutes.

Gripping photographs and sobering facts dominate this powerful piece. There are shots of women in pink wigs and pink tutus, children hosing off physically and emotionally drained walkers, women holding up photographs of lost loved ones -- one with a printed message that reads, Mom, we would walk forever to bring you back. May 14, 2004. There are smiles and cheers and tears. Every image packs an emotional punch.

The facts that appear throughout the slide show really stand out. They spell out in black and white some of the most important facts about breast cancer. And here they are -- all seven of them.

• 40,970 women and 460 men will die from breast cancer annually.

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in African American women but ranks second to lung cancer in cause of cancer deaths.

• People over the age of 50 account for 77 percent of breast cancer cases.

• Breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed among Hispanic women and is the leading cause of cancer death among this group.

• Being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially after menopause.

• Risk is increased by onset of menstruation before age 12, menopause after 50, first child after 30, or no children.

• Family history of breast cancer increases risk, especially if close relatives are diagnosed before the age of 50. A first-degree relative -- mother, sister, daughter -- with breast cancer approximately doubles the risk of breast cancer.

All cancers are not treated equally. Some attract a frenzy of attention -- breast cancer -- and some receive not much attention at all -- gallbladder cancer. Some are vigorously researched and studied. Others sit by idly, rarely the subject of investigation. Some are feverishly funded. Some never prosper by way of financial support. Yet they all share something very important in common. They are all cancer.

All cancers are marked by an uncontrollable division and spread of abnormal cells. And they are all capable of delivering shock and despair and even death to any one of us. And that makes each one -- brain cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, eye cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, you name it -- worthy of equal attention.

And so I bring to you Cancer by the Numbers, a series of posts that will feature the basics about all sorts of cancer, beginning with the numbers -- the statistics -- to help define the prevalence of each cancer, followed by important facts about screening, diagnosis, treatment, survival, and more. I will cover the well-known cancers, the sort-of-known cancers, the barely-known cancers. And while I can only offer what I can track down on each form of cancer, I intend to dish out every piece of data I can dig up -- so we all can become a little more informed, a little more prepared should we have to personally do battle with any one of the 100 possible cancers out there.

The American Cancer Society reports that 1,399,790 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2006. This estimate does not include most carcinoma in situ (noninvasive cancer) cases and also does take into account the estimated one million cases of basal and squamous cell skin cancers that will be diagnosed this year. Of these predicted cases, about 564,830 will result in death -- that's more than 1,500 people each day. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease, and accounts for one of every four deaths.

These numbers are staggering. But without further explanation, they are broad and all-encompassing and don't say much about how all the individual diseases add up. That's what I plan to do -- break it all down, cancer by cancer, until the numbers make sense. And the cancers do too.

I took my boys yesterday for a tour of the University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology. Translation for these little boys -- ages five and three -- involves one simple word. Bugs. They love bugs, hunt for bugs, capture bugs, and reluctantly set them free because I coax them into allowing these itty bitty creatures to continue living with their "mommies and daddies." I have a soft spot for all living beings -- bugs included.

We learned some crazy facts about bugs yesterday -- insects is the proper term really. We learned there is one cockroach that can live for seven days without its head. We learned there are two types of Madagascar cockroaches living in a lab in the very same building we visited that if set free, would reproduce so quickly they would become a major pest problem in the state of Florida. And we learned that of all animals on this planet, most are insects. But not only did we learn some crazy facts, we -- well, Joey -- shared a crazy fact too.

Joey is five years old. He is the boy who remembers much of my breast cancer journey. He is the one who helped shave my head, the one who thought a banana would make my sick tummy feel better. He's the one who would blurt out to people we never knew very well, "My mommy is bald," the one who asked me just last night if the metal thing -- my port -- was still in my chest. When I told him it's gone, he jumped up and announced, "Yeah, it's gone!" Cancer is one of many vocabulary words housed in Joey's brain. And sometimes the word comes up unexpectedly, in strange contexts, in surprising ways. Like today.

Our bug tour guide told us that in Africa, mosquitoes transmit diseases that kill millions of people. But those with sickle cell anemia are immune to the deadly diseases due to their compromised red blood cells that somehow fend off disease. This fact prompted Joey to share with the guide, "Did you know when people have cancer, there are bugs that can kill the cancer?" Our guide listened to this crazy fact and said in a kid-friendly way, "No, I did not know that. Who told you that?" Joey told her, "I don't remember but someone told me."

I am not sure what prompted Joey to make this announcement. Perhaps he was trying to one-up the tour guide, to sound like an expert on one of his favorite subjects. Perhaps his imagination was in overdrive and he blurted out the best story he could offer. Perhaps he jumbled up a story he had heard on the topic of cancer. And perhaps he is just simply hopeful that one day, bugs will help cure cancer. And wouldn't that be nice -- a simple mosquito comes along, pierces the skin, and poof, cancer is gone.

My cancer journey would not be nearly as interesting, as enlightening, as tender if Joey was not along with me for the ride. He keeps me busy and keeps my spirits up. He keeps me grounded and keeps life simple. Best of all -- he keeps me laughing.

When a question or concern or worry related to breast cancer pops into my head, I typically find myself parked in front of my computer in search of instant answers, instant comfort, instant wisdom. There are several different websites I consult -- each one different from the others, each one complementing the others. They are my reference tools, my handbooks, my encyclopedias. They offer me a clear picture of a confusing, cloudy disease. And here they are -- seven super websites that have been become staples in my life.

On Monday, the sublimely hilarious Ellen DeGeneres, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, dedicated her show to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

During the monologue, Ellen discussed the philosophy of laughter being the best medicine, and in her uniquely funny way gave an example to support this view by stating that Elton John is proof that looking through rose-colored glasses will alter your optimism because Elton John is a very happy person.

She imparted wisdom that being in a good mood makes your body feel better, that optimistic people heal quicker and that positivity is an energy you cannot see but is very real. Again, Ellen provided an example of how this works when she compared what happens when you hug someone who is wearing too much perfume and you walk away smelling like the perfume. Energy is like that. It rubs off on others.

Breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow appeared on the show, as did Christina Applegate, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. Four audience members had their hair cut on television and donated the locks to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. Pantene's Beautiful Lengths makes wigs for women with cancer. Ellen blogs her monologues and other tidbits of information and this month, her website provides breast cancer information.

A few breast cancer fast facts:

• One out of eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer. In 1960 it was one out of 14.
• An estimated 212,920 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the US during 2006. This does not take DCIS into account.
• An estimated 41,430 breast cancer deaths are anticipated this year.
• Female breast cancer rates have continued to increase, although at a slower rate than in years past.
• Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women.
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women 40-55 years of age.
• There are 2 million women living in the U.S. who have been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.
• There are another 1 million women living with breast cancer who have not yet been diagnosed.
• Every woman is at risk for breast cancer, and that risk increases with age. About 77 percent of breast cancer diagnoses occur in women age 50 and older.
• Seventy percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors.
  

As Ellen told the audience of breast cancer survivors, "We can beat this thing."

Breast cancer is widespread -- so widespread that most of us have direct personal contact with someone living with this disease. Information about breast cancer is also widespread -- so widespread that it's easy to get lost in the maze of details that define this illness that two million women in the United States are living with at this very moment. Breast cancer has its own set of definitions and facts and statistics -- and myths too. And here are seven myths that are not worth spreading.

Most lumps in the breast are cancer.
Actually, most lumps in the breast are not cancer. But every lump should still be examined and diagnosed.

Breast cancer does not occur in young women.
While most breast cancer cases occur in women over the age of 50, breast cancer can and does occur in women of all ages. I was diagnosed at age 34.

Women with large breasts have a greater risk of breast cancer.
Size does not affect risk. But it can be more difficult to examine large breasts and therefore detect a suspicious lump due to a larger amount of tissue.

A woman has little or no risk of breast cancer if she has has no family history of the disease.
Most women with breast cancer -- about 75 percent -- have no family history of breast cancer. Simply being female puts all women at risk. I have no family history of breast cancer -- but I still was diagnosed with this disease and have been treating it for almost two years.

If mammography shows nothing to worry about, then there is nothing to worry about.
Mammography can miss 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers. So any suspicious mass should be investigated with further tests -- such as ultrasound and MRI. When my lump was examined during a mammogram, my doctor was not worried. But an ultrasound that followed revealed a solid mass -- and this was something to worry about. A biopsy came next. And then came my breast cancer diagnosis.

Once a woman is treated for breast cancer, she should avoid becoming pregnant.
Many breast cancer survivors go on to have successful pregnancies and healthy children. Women should consult their doctors, however, about current and previous treatments and should discuss any possible concerns about pregnancy after breast cancer.

Removal of the entire breast is safer than segmental mastectomy.
Survival is similar for women who have breast-conserving surgery -- like a lumpectomy -- and for those who have either a total or modified mastectomy.

It's not surprising that inaccurate information is floating around about breast cancer -- because there is so much information on the topic and much of it is not completely understood by those who study the disease every day. But we all can take an active part in our own education by researching each tidbit of news that comes our way. We can confirm it, deny it, and understand it better if we take matters into our own hands. And if we don't spread anything we just are not sure about. We owe it to ourselves -- and women everywhere -- to spread only the most accurate information about this disease we all need to better comprehend.

The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), established to explore complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science; to integrate scientifically proven CAM practices into conventional medicine; to train CAM researchers; and disseminate authoritative information to the public and professionals -- offers these definitions for alternative, complementary and integrative therapy.

Alternative therapy is used in place of conventional western medicine such as special diets to treat cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy recommended by a conventional doctor.

Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine such as using aromatherapy to help lessen a patient's discomfort following surgery.

Integrative medicine combines both mainstream western medical treatment and CAM therapies for which there is known high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.

Based on the 2002 edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics report, in the US, up to 62 percent of adults use some form of CAM. Although the survey indicated that people who use CAM come from all backgrounds -- according to the survey -- some people more likely than others to use CAM are women, those with higher educational levels, people who have been hospitalized in the past year, and former smokers when compared with current smokers or those who have never smoked.

Research has proven some CAM therapies to be valid, while finding others useless, and research continues. NCCAM offers information on research, clinical trials, highlights and alerts, health topic fact sheets, and the CAM Online Continuing Education Series, presented in eight chapters, for health care providers and the public to learn more about CAM.

Dr. Lisa Melton of the London-based registered charity Novartis Foundation, has written The antioxidant myth: a medical fairy tale, published in the New Scientist, that takes a look at the benefit of whole foods versus antioxidant supplements -- and concludes that something is lost in the extraction from whole foods making supplements essentially useless to health benefit. She even suggests, based on research, that some antioxidant supplements have been shown to create health problems.

In a curiosity about Dole Food owner David H. Murdock's quest to help people live better longer, I visited the Dole Food website. When you first arrive you will be greeted by the slogan The Dawn of the Nutrition Age. When it comes to food and nutrition, this is a comprehensive resource of internet destination. In the Healthy Recipes area, you can find 30 Minute Meals, BBQ & Grilling, Fruit Salads, Fun Kid Snacks, Holiday Entertaining, Less than 5 Ingredients meals, Main Dish Salads, Pizzas, Quick Breads and Tastes Like Chicken. There is a Glossary, Conversion Table, The Benefits of Getting Steamed, Healthy Snacks, and Put the Squeeze on Added Calories. The Art of the Meal included instructions on how to create simple works of art with food.

Dole Nutrition News is a bi-monthly online newsletter featuring information and news on diet, fitness, nutrition and natural beauty available free to interested readers.

It seems like common sense to me -- that lifestyle choices can affect a person's risk for contracting cancer -- but apparently, many people are not aware of this. Or they are aware but are not heeding the advice that might just save them from this life-threatening disease. According to Carolyn "Bo" Aldige, president of the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, in Alexandria, Va., it's not undiscovered treatments and therapies that are key to fighting off cancer -- it's likely that the toll cancer takes can be reduced by lifestyle changes and routine screenings. Aldige reports that nearly half of all cancer deaths are preventable. And she urges us to consider these facts.

• Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States and causes nearly one in five deaths, killing about 438,000 Americans each year. Yet 45 million adults still smoke -- 23 percent of them men and 19 percent of them women.
• Poor nutrition, inactivity, and obesity account for one in three of the 564,830 deaths from all cancers. Experts say that excess calories cause mutations that start genes traveling down pathways that cause cells to divide out of control -- and that's what cancer is. According to Aldige, if each person could magically acquire the perfect body mass index, there would be a whole lot less colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers.
• It requires little time and not much discomfort for certain screenings that can detect cancer at an early enough stage that it can be successfully treated. There are already screenings for breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, cervical cancer, and skin cancer. And soon, there may be a simple screening for lung cancer too.
• A diet rich in nutrients and vitamin supplements helps maintain health and prevent cancer.

There are some highly effective defenses against cancer -- but they require some attention and effort on the part of each individual. Not everyone will make health-conscious choices -- some for reasons out of their control (lack of access to screenings, for example) and some for reasons I personally do not understand. But maybe that's because I have already had cancer and I know that I don't ever wish for it to return. So for that reason alone, I plan to adhere to the considerations listed above. It seems like common sense to me.

AOL Diet & Fitness is featuring Prevention's 100 Smartest Diet Tips Ever, and it is by far one of the most creative and common sense approaches to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight -- and in hedging your bets with good nutrition against being diagnosed with diseases like cancer. The tips are from registered dietitians in private practice and respected in their field as heads of specialty practice groups for the American Dietetic Association.

Whether you are someone who can only make a small practical change -- or -- looking for ideas on how to get more veggie-goodness into your day -- or -- easy tricks to cut calories -- or -- healthy low-cal dinner ideas if you don't feel like cooking -- there is something for everyone in the list of 100 smartest diet tips ever.

Some of the creative tips include:

• Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
• Keep a food journal. The experts swear this really works wonders.
• Mix three different cans of beans and some diet Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.
• Dance to music with your family in your home.
  

Some common sense tips include:

• Fat-free isn't always your best bet. The experts explain why.
• Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning. They give you a quick nutritious breakfast recipe.
• Make vegetables more attractive by avoiding mushy limp vegetables in the refrigerator crisper drawer with ready-to-go bags of frozen vegetables.
• Exercise. It curbs your appetite.
• Drink water frequently. They say it is not how much water you drink but how often. Dehydration slows your metabolism.
  

The last 15 tips are myth busters that take you from fiction to fact and the pitfalls to avoid when it comes to getting the most in diet health benefit. To find out more, go to 100 Smartest Diet Tips Ever for the complete list.

I have been a cheerleader for the breast cancer drug Herceptin ever since I began receiving it. I had my initial worries -- about an allergic reaction that I knew caused death within 24 hours for a handful of women and about possible toxicity to the heart -- but after faring well through my first dose and having now successfully completed my one year obligation to the drug, with no allergic reaction or heart damage, I have come to believe the Herceptin might just be the gem of a drug that the media says it is. Yet now I've read an article that makes me question what I really know about Herceptin -- and the studies that surround it and the statistics that back it and the messages sent out over the lines of mass communication to every day, non-medical people like me.