Bill France Jr., the man who helped build Daytona International Speedway and built NASCAR into a nationwide billion-dollar conglomerate, died Monday at his Daytona Beach, Fla. home. France had been diagnosed with cancer in 1999 -- he never publicly disclosed any details about his disease -- and had been in poor health for much of the past 10 years. He was 74.

"He had a remarkable career and an even more remarkable life," said his son, Brian France, who replaced him as chairman in 2003. "Words cannot express how much he'll be missed by myself and the rest of our family and by the NASCAR industry overall."

France spent 31 years as NASCAR chairman and earned himself a reputation as a benevolent dictator. He rarely compromised yet always did what was best for NASCAR. France's passing is a huge loss for the sport.

We all know from the bestselling book that French women don't get fat. Now it's appearing as if they, along with the rest of the general population in France, don't get cancer either, or at least are better at diagnosing and treating the disease, according to this article from the BBC. Compared to England, France doesn't have as many prominent cancer researchers on its side and yet more people are surviving? Why? It's all down to the fact that the French government spends more money on healthcare and treatment of the disease is quicker than in England. They've invested in more radiation equipment and have more doctors available, which goes to show that the key to cancer survival is treating it now, not trying to prevent it later.

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, he was scheduled to start treatment in a month's time because the healthcare system in my area just didn't have the resources to get him treatment immediately. He never made it. I've never been the type of person who gets involved in politics but experiencing firsthand the failure of the healthcare system where I live has changed all that. Nothing is more important than our health and government should realize that, just as they have in France. What do you think?

Secondhand smoke rears its ugly head once again -- this time in the form of study results revealing high levels of secondhand smoke in the workplace can double the risk of lung cancer for non-smokers.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at results from 22 studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, and China. What they found -- and published in the American Journal of Public Health -- is a lung cancer risk 50 percent higher than normal for non-smokers exposed to smoke on the job for more than 30 years. They also found risk increases with level of exposure.

"We believe that our study provides the strongest evidence to date that smoking in the workplace does present a substantial risk to workers -- and particularly to workers who are working in highly exposed areas such as bar workers or restaurant workers," lead researcher Leslie Stayner said.

Previous evidence for increased lung cancer risk caused by secondhand smoke comes from studies of non-smokers married to smokers.

Secondhand smoke -- also known as passive smoke and environmental tobacco smoke -- is smoke from a cigarette, pipe, or cigar as well as smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers and inhaled by non-smokers. It can cause cancer, respiratory problems, and asthma in non-smokers and is leading to increased efforts by communities to ban or limit smoking in the workplace.

This week in France, bans begin in offices, stores, schools, and hospitals. Come January 2008, cafes and restaurants must also comply with bans. For now, smoking in these areas is permitted in hermetically sealed rooms without any services.

Since 1988, Wendy Chioji has been a reporter and anchorwoman for WESH 2 News in Orlando, Florida. She has covered news ranging from the pope's visit to Cuba in 1998 to the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City in 2002. She continuously covered last year's hurricanes, and she has an Emmy award under her belt for a special news report on heroin use.

Wendy is a top notch athlete. She has run five marathons and competed in several triathlons and half-ironman races. She has ridden in parts of several stages of the Tour de France, and traveled across the country with Lance Armstrong in 2003 -- covering 550 miles -- with the Tour of Hope event to raise awareness for cancer research. Wendy has also made a tour with stage II breast cancer. Since 2001, she has been surviving this disease.

In the land down under tongues are wagging over the new Naked Rugby League calendar being sold to raise money for breast cancer charity. Seems the boys are baring it all and one of the players left little to the imagination in the position of hand to -- well -- private parts.

The NRL has gone very public over the fact they do not want to be associated with the nude shenanigans of players Johnathan Thurston, Justin Hodges, Paul Whatuira, Brent Webb, Ben Ross, Amos Roberts, Ashley Harrison, Riley Brown, Stuart Webb, Greg Bird, Michael Witt, Liam Fulton and Nick Youngquest.

Although all the players are nude, Youngquest has stirred the pot and is taking most of the heat, as he draped his hand in such a way as to reveal more than some consider good taste in nudity. The calendar's photographer Pedro Virgil insists the shots are provocative but tastefully done.

The Naked Rugby League calendar went on sale yesterday. The spokeswoman for the breast cancer foundation that the calendar will benefit has said they had nothing to do with the making of the calendar. I visited the online store, where many pink products are featured, and the Naked Rugby League calendar is not one of the featured items. If the charity does include the calendar in its online store, I will retract and update that last observation. In my opinion, seems they could have come out a wee bit stronger in their support for the calendar if they are the primary -- and only -- benefactors.

This story almost reminds me of another story earlier this year, when a woman died from breast cancer and her coworkers got together to honor her memory by raising money for breast cancer charity. Because they worked as exotic dancers, the first year they held a fundraiser they could not find a breast cancer charity who would accept the donation unless the dancers agreed to donate anonymously. The women had enough self-respect to decline the conditions for donation. The second year, a national breast cancer organization told the dancers they would proudly accept the donation from the fundraiser, and publicly announce affiliation with this group of women wanting to help with breast cancer research.

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.

BBC News is reporting that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has caused a massive oil spill off Lebanon's coastline that could take ten years to clean up and poses a threat of increased cancer risks for people living in the region. The spill was caused by the Israeli bombing of the Jiyyeh power station.

Yacoub Sarraf, Lebanon's environment minister, stated that they cannot begin to tackle the problem until the conflict ends. "We cannot get equipment, companies, labor or know-how to handle the problem," he said until the safety of technical teams can be guaranteed.

Marine experts from Inforac, an organization with links to the United Nations Environment Program (Unep), said the spill of fuel oil was a "high-risk toxic cocktail made up of substances which cause cancer and damage to the endocrine system." The experts warned that the first people at risk from the toxic spray at the time of the bombing were the two million inhabitants of Beirut.

Experts are comparing the oil spill to the Erika tanker oil spill off the coast of France and speculated that the Lebanon oil spill could end up being as devastating as the Exxon Valdez disaster.

A ninth Hole in the Wall camp is in the works -- thanks to actor Paul Newman who started the first camp for critically-ill children in Connecticut in 1988. Hole in the Wall camps host thousands of children for free and are now scattered all over the map -- in California, New York, France, and other locations. And one will soon open in Israel.

Each Hole in the Wall camp is a separate entity with its own distinct personality and name -- like The Victory Junction Gang in Randleman, NC and Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Florida. All camps share a common goal of building self-esteem and restoring joy in the lives of seriously-ill kids. And typical camp activities -- for kids whose diagnoses range from cancer to muscular dystrophy -- include rope climbing, face painting, horseback riding, swimming, and sports. It's a typical camp where children can enjoy childhood, without compromising their medical needs, due to state-of-the-art medical care.

Newman makes periodic visits to the camps and only partially funds the camps that mostly survive on their own through charitable contributions. He clearly loves the camps that have served more than 100,000 kids from 34 states and 31 countries and says he wants the camps to be the legacy he one day is remembered for. And what a legacy it will be.

Today the RAGBRAI began.

RAGBRAI, an acronym for The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day 472 mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. The ride began 33 years ago as a challenge made by one Des Moines Register newspaper journalist to another -- when John Karras, feature writer/copy editor suggested to Don Kaul, Over The Coffee columnist, that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective.

Today, RAGBRAI has the distinction of being the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. The ride is so popular that riders who wish to participate are required to enter a lottery for a spot in RAGBRAI.

Lance Armstrong will join RAGBRAI this year. Armstrong is participating in the ride to continue to raise awareness about cancer issues, the need for increased federal funding of cancer research and cancer survivorship. Armstrong sees Iowa as a pivotal place politically, and he is hoping to encourage locals to grill prospective presidential candidates on their positions on cancer research funding when they come to court Iowa voters.

Armstrong is more than concerned that for the first time in 35 years, the federal budget for cancer research has been reduced. He is single-focused about cancer survivorship, and remains consistently determined to fight for the best in cancer care and cancer cure.

When I was going through cancer treatment, I read Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, in which he shared the philosophy of a cancer survivor's obligation of the cured. I was inspired to my own commitment and obligation in cancer survivorship. He has steadfastly lived up to his obligation. RAGBRAI is one more effort made -- and for a seven-time Tour de France champion -- a passion.

When I went through chemotherapy there were days when I did not have the strength to walk across the room. If you haven't been through chemotherapy you might think this is an exaggeration. If you have been through the grueling mean rigors of chemotherapy you know exactly what I am talking about. On some days, during the worst of it, I would have to stop half-way across the room to rest before continuing to the other side of the room -- I am not joking.

Chemotherapy brings a human body as close to the edge of death as is possible without actually dying. Because I know what chemotherapy can do to a person, when I found the Bouncing for Boobs blog, my heart was captivated by the efforts of Priscilla to help her sister Kathleen for the time when she would be going through chemotherapy. Kathleen is a single mom with children to provide for and bills to pay. There is no way she will be able to work full-time to keep the lights on and food in the pantry.

Priscilla came up with a fundraising plan to help by bouncing on a trampoline and asking for donations to match the number of times she bounced her boobs. Its tongue and cheek and it's very serious at the same time. The Bouncing for Boobs campaign officially ends June 3rd, and to date Priscilla has been able to raise $7,000 dollars. She has bounced her boobs over 900,000 times in six countries -- England, India, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland -- at famous landmarks that include the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, London Eye, Dom Cathedral, Leaning Tower of Pisa. Her bouncing boobs are gaining worldwide attention. From this single effort of one sister helping another sister, an organization has been created that will go on to help other single mothers going through chemotherapy keep the lights on and food in the pantry. Priscilla is an every day heroine, an example of what each of us has the capacity to do if we set our minds and hearts to it. If you can, get over to Bouncing for Boobs and help her reach her 10,000 boobs bouncing goal of raising $10,000 dollars before June 3rd.

If you are a Tom Hanks fan -- and who isn't -- if you enjoyed reading the Da Vinci Code -- and who didn't -- if you plan on seeing the movie based on the book -- and many will be going to the theater to see this anticipated blockbuster movie -- and if you are into collecting memorabilia -- then I want to tell you about an eBay auction that went live today. Hanks donated a signed personal copy of the Da Vinci Code book he used while filming the movie to support the Macmillan Cancer Support cancer charity.

According to the folks at Macmillan Cancer Support, last September, IKEA Edinburgh store at Straiton invited Tom Hanks to their coffee morning, as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's World's Biggest Coffee Morning, as he was filming the Da Vinci Code at nearby Rosslyn Chapel. Unable to attend himself, he kindly sent his bodyguard with not only apologies but a signed personal copy of the book.

The highest bidder in the eBay auction will win this celebrity signed book that has sparked both interest and controversy around the Holy Grail mythology. The auction runs from May 19 - 29 with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners and the race director, is giddy with delight when she talks about Lance Armstrong's participation in November's New York Marathon. "Lance epitomizes both the American spirit and the spirit of the marathon and it is no surprise that his drive, motivation and focus leads him to his next challenge - 26.2 miles on foot. Lance is a born winner and has a Midas touch. I can guarantee this year's New York City Marathon will have a shine to it like never before because of Lance."

Lance Armstrong, winner of seven consecutive Tour de France races and quite possibly the most famous and publicly visible cancer survivor of our day, refers to the race as something to fill a void in his life after he quit competing as a professional cyclist. New York Daily News Christian Red, who wrote the article about Armstrong's marathon participation, muses that in this race Armstrong certainly won't be able to draft - cycling jargon for conserving energy while riding behind other cyclists. He'll be lucky if he gets a favorable wind blowing from behind.

Well you knew he wasn't going to retire from competition and go home to sit in an easy chair. Armstrong conquers things, and he is a man who needs something to conquer. He has taken on cancer survivorship and cancer survivorship issues on behalf of all cancer survivors with the same determination and will he used in his cyclist racing days. And Wittenberg is right -- the New York Marathon will be just that much more interesting with Armstrong running in it.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are expecting the birth of their first baby together in a few months. Marcheline Bertrand, Jolie's mother, is gravely ill with terminal uterine cancer and not expected to live much longer. Bertrand has asked her daughter to give birth in France, where Bertrand was born, to maintain a "circle of life." But her mother will not be in France for the birth of her grandchild. Bertrand is in Los Angeles California. Reports say Jolie father, actor Jon Voight, Jolie and Pitt, make regular visits to the hospital where Bertrand is being treated.

Jolie is in a difficult position. Do you honor the dying wishes of your mother, if it means you may miss precious last moments with her before she dies? Or do you ignore what your mother wants, so that you can be with her and share with her, the birth of your child? Jolie will need to decide soon. What would you do?