There's this guy. His name is Matthew Zachary. He's a cancer survivor, a motivational speaker, a concert pianist, and the founder of a resource portal for young adults surviving cancer.

Steps for Living, Inc. -- also known as I'm too young for this -- was created by Zachary because he wants us all to know there are awesome cancer support services out there for adolescents and young adults. He means really awesome opportunities -- like spa retreats, online forums and blogs, social networking, camping excursions, fertility education, peer counseling, financial scholarships, and more.

You may be too young for cancer, but you are not alone, says Zachary whose mantra is Get Busy Living. And this is exactly what he is doing, despite challenges and setbacks in his own cancer recovery.

Think about this, an e-mail written by Zachary for those near and dear to his heart:

I am writing to share that I have suddenly gone deaf in my left ear. The condition is called Sudden Sensory Neural Hearing Loss.

After consulting with the country's best hearing experts as well as my oncologist, it has been determined that this is unequivocally a latent, long-term side effect of my post-operative cancer treatments from eleven years ago. Evidently, the excessive radiation dosages to the left hemisphere of my brain have caused irreparable neurological damage to my cochlea, which has ceased functioning.

There may be options (cochlear implants) but I will not know more for several weeks. As you can imagine, this is a devastating blow to my personal life and music career, especially since I remember fighting so hard to regain dexterity and muscle control in my left hand when it ceased functioning prior to my initial diagnosis in 1995.

That said, it has only reinvigorated me to stay the course and continue to advocate on behalf of the more than 500,000 young adults living with, through and beyond cancer each and every year. Now more than ever, I stress the importance of recognizing that remission is not a cure and that public awareness and adequate funding for adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship programming is tantamount to that of cancer research.

This is what it means to be a cancer survivor.

To read more about Zachary's powerful journey, click here for an unbelievably moving essay -- titled The Cost Of Living: No Cure For Cancer -- written by this unbelievably grounded guy.

One out of three Americans will get cancer before they die. Who is at the highest risk?

Dr. David Nanus, an oncologist who has been treating cancer patients for over twenty years, says that "If you're obese or overweight, you have an increased incidence in a number of cancers". Nanus also tells CBS news that someone with a family history, someone who smokes, has a high fat diet and does not exercise are in the highest risk category for developing cancer in their lifetime.

According to the American Cancer Institute about one third of cancer deaths in 2006 were related to nutrition, physical inactivity and being overweight or obese -- and could have been prevented.

Nanus also says that "The biggest problem is the fear factor. People are so afraid of being diagnosed with cancer they wait. Even waiting three months can mean a difference between life and death.

I just took the Great American Health Challenge -- an on-line quiz offered by the American Cancer Society -- and after just a few minutes of answering a few questions about my age; weight; height; family history; and eating drinking, smoking, and exercise habits, up popped my very own Health Action Plan.

My plan was quite revealing and listed both the good and not-so-good facts about my lifestyle.

I learned that my weight is normal -- whew! -- and that I seem to have an active enough fitness routine. More is always better, though, I was informed. I digested the fact that I don't eat enough whole grains and probably need more low-fat dairy in my diet. I was commended for not smoking and not drinking. And I was encouraged to limit sugars because they are high in calories and low in nutritional content.

My plan came to me ready to print so I can take it to my next medical appointment where my physician can help guide me toward healthier living.

American Cancer Society experts say the Great American Health Challenge can help those who take it to lower their risk of cancer. Get checked, get moving, nourish your body, and quit smoking, they say.

It only takes five minutes to get started. So click here and start now.

Blogger Kristina Collins wrote on February 11 about three great steps for reducing the risk of cancer. Her suggestions -- eat well, get fit, and stop smoking -- are such good tips and could certainly account for major health changes in those who heed this advice.

Each one of these recommended lifestyle alterations is a major undertaking. And if you're like me and find big, swift, sweeping changes a sure recipe for defeat, then this short to-do list may seem a bit intimidating. So I'd like to offer a bit of my own advice for accomplishing these health feats -- take baby steps.

Kristina has taken baby steps. She first quit smoking -- I'm not sure there's anything small about this success, however -- and now she's taking on membership at a gym. Cutting down on red wine comes next, she says, as she pursues a life driven by health.

I have just recently taken a baby step myself. I stopped drinking soda -- or pop as I called it before relocating from Ohio to Florida. I'd known for some time I wanted to rid myself of the sugar that comes packaged in my favorite drinks -- Dr. Pepper and root beer -- but for some reason, I was dragging my feet when it came to giving up this vice. Yet I did it. I stopped drinking soda, replaced it with water, and now have no desire for sugary drinks of any kind.

I am a creature of habit. I know this because I spent years drinking only water. But when cancer struck, I turned to the carbonation of soft drinks to settle my upset stomach. With time, my stomach stopped bothering me. But I didn't stop drinking soda. I kept drinking it for no other reason than pure habit. And when I convinced myself this practice was not necessary in my life, I cut it out.

Perhaps I'll tackle chocolate next. Or exercising more. Who knows. I'm just happy I accomplished one small task. And I hope you'll consider taking baby steps in your pursuits for better health. Just remember, we didn't hop up one day and start sprinting in infancy. It took years to fine-tune our ability to run on our own. And it may take years to carve out a healthful way of living.

Angelina Jolie, who told CNN host Larry King on December 18 that her 56-year-old mother was battling ovarian cancer, is now confirming that her mother passed away on Saturday afternoon.

According to a new release, Angelina Jolie and brother James Haven were with their mom, actress Marcheline Bertrand, when she died this weekend at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. It is reported that Jolie's boyfriend, Brad Pitt, was at the hospital with Jolie and her brother.

Bertrand, divorced from Jolie's Oscar-winning actor father Jon Voight and primary caretaker of her children, had small roles in the movies Lookin' to Get Out in 1982 and The Man Who Loved Women in 1983.

A private funeral is planned -- and the family asks that donations be made to the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

He was an Emmy-winning television writer who helped create the animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show. He contributed satire, wordplay, and puns for the Rocky and His Friends cartoon, later renamed The Bullwinkle Show. He also helped create The Munsters and in 1968, he won an Emmy for his work on the CBS sitcom He & She.

He is Chris Hayward and on November 20 -- at the age of 81 -- he died at his Beverly Hills home. Cancer was the cause.

Hayward was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. At age 17, he moved to Los Angeles where he studied scriptwriting and entered the world of television. His accomplishments include his work on Crusader Rabbit -- the first cartoon show created for television -- as well as Get Smart, My Mother the Car, and Barney Miller.

Hayward is survived by his wife and three children -- Laurel, Victoria, and Tony -- from a previous marriage.

So, Katie Couric is moving to CBS, and Meredith Viera, one of the ABC co-hosts of The View, accepted an offer to replace Couric at NBC. Which left Viera's job at ABC open. Who did Barbara Walters choose as the new co-host? Rosie O'Donnell. What are Walters and ABC thinking? Jerry Springer ratings steeped in controversy is all I can figure out.

Once upon a time, I was a Rosie O'Donnell fan. As a comedian, I thought she was funny. As an advocate for children, I thought she was generous. But she cancelled all that out the day she allegedly told one of her staff, who was battling breast cancer, that "liars get cancer," because apparently, O'Donnell was feeling even more mean-spirited than usual that day. To be accurate, during a lawsuit Rosie magazine publishers filed against O'Donnell for breach of contract -- Cindy Spengler -- who was head of marketing at Rosie magazine, testified that O'Donnell made the remark after a meeting to discuss the magazine's problems. Spengler said O'Donnell told her that her silence in the meeting was tantamount to lying. "You know what happens to people who lie," the witness tearfully quoted O'Donnell as saying. "They get sick and they get cancer. If they keep lying, they get it again.

Before that, I do not think the larger audience had any idea O'Donnell harbored such dark spite in her heart. The statement, while obviously appalling and unforgivable, is also stupefying considering O'Donnell -- at the age of 10 -- lost her mother to breast cancer. But no matter now, as to the why of it all. You can't unring a bell. I am not a huge daytime television viewer, but come September, you can rest assured, no one at my house will be channel surfing ABC. People has the bland noncommittal announcement of The View's choice for new co-host. The Boston Herald has a snarkier version of the story. As a breast cancer survivor, now you have mine.