I recently read this article, which states that children undergoing leukemia treatment generally have lower than average marks in school, particularly those who underwent cranial radiation. This was not because they missed school from being in a hospital -- they were provided with education whether at home or in the hospital. Still, the results are a relief to researchers because the majority of children who had undergone treatment did complete their basic education, albeit with a bit more difficulty than their healthy peers.

What do you think about this? I'm no education expert, but I think it's important that kids with leukemia should have some sort of extra educational help available to them -- maybe a tutoring program that can help them in the learning process. Afterall, they've gone through enough with their illness -- they shouldn't have to suffer through the humiliation of falling behind in class too.

It's not necessary to travel all the way to Tucson, Arizona or Lenox, Massachusetts for a little health enlightenment -- although I highly recommend it. Canyon Ranch professionals are not stingy with their health secrets. They offer a website for all to view, complete with all sorts of diet and fitness tips and and even an opportunity to sign up for an e-newsletter. In a binder I brought home from my trip to Tuscon in May, I've found even more resources, these specific to cooking. Take a look.

Recommended Magazines

Cooking Light (www.cookinglight.com)
Eating Well (www.eatingwell.com)
Fine Cooking, (www.finecooking.com)

Recommended Cookbooks

Canyon Ranch Cooks (1-800-726-8040)
Canyon Ranch Cooklets (available at canyonranch.com)

• Salad & Appetizers
• Soups
• Fish & Seafood
• Poultry
• Vegetables & Vegetarian
• Desserts
• Mexican
• The LPGA Cooks with Canyon Ranch

The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison & Edward Espe Brown
Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver
How to Cool Everything by Mark Bittman

Now I advise everyone to take all food-related recommendations with a grain of salt, because what first may appear healthy may not be in the long run -- and what is once deemed unhealthy may one day turn into a health food, like coffee.

Now, here's something new to think about:

It turns out the average mushroom may have healing powers. A new study out of Tufts University found that white button mushrooms help boost the body's natural immunity against tumors and viruses.

Source: Woman's Day, September 12, 2007

I'm dizzy, light-headed, over-heated and just plain worn out after my workout this morning. Why? Because I overdid it.

I've been so focused on running from cancer by eating right and strenuously exercising -- research says it take five hours of vigorous exercise per week to keep breast cancer away -- that I drove myself to depletion this morning. It hit me when a wave of dizziness came over me in the midst of my outdoor workout. My body felt heavy, my strength disappeared, and it took every ounce of energy I could muster to put one foot in front of the other so I could get home. I suspect it was a combination of dehydration -- I didn't take water with me -- and heat -- it's really hot here in Florida -- and pushing myself too hard. The fact that I feel a bit under the weather didn't help either, I'm sure.

My body spoke to me today. And it's got my attention.

I've always loved BBQ beef. I'm not a red-meat eater anymore, though, so BBQ chicken will be my new love. Here's a recipe for either option. My mouth is watering already.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds beef brisket (or other lean cut) or boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 sliced onion

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a crock pot
• Cook on low heat all day
• Before serving, shred the meat using two forks in opposing fashion across the grain of the meat
• Serve on whole grain bread, buns, or tortillas
  

Let's face it, there is no "secret" to losing weight. It's simple -- bank less calories than you spend and the weight will come off. You don't need to take pills or buy into the latest diet craze. Common sense is all you need.

I spoke with my oncologist the other day about my own weight loss -- I have lost nearly 14 pounds since the beginning of May, thanks to a no-sweets, low-sugar, low-fat, water-only diet with an emphasis on high fruit and veggie intake. Now this is no temporary diet. This is for life. My goal was never to lose a bunch of weight and then go back to eating junk -- I just wanted to shed a few cancer treatment-induced pounds while embracing a brand new healthy lifestyle.

My doctor was proud of my progress and shared his too -- he's lost eight pounds by cutting 500 calories from his diet each day. It sounds like a lot but this can be accomplished by cutting down on portions, giving up soda, and ditching high-calorie snacks. Observing the physical changes we both had made, he announced to the medical students in the room with us at the time that weight loss is not so hard -- well, maybe mentally hard, but not physically. He talked with his students about how to advise overweight patients -- surely a large percentage of people they see -- and reminded them of this formula: take in less than you spend. They nodded in agreement. And we moved on to other topics. There really was nothing more to say. Simple, I tell you. Give it a try.

She's the guru on breast cancer, the woman who writes the continually updated breast cancer bible. She's Dr. Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, and in the May/June 2007 issue of MAMM magazine, she shares some of her latest thoughts.

On milk ducts

Dr. Love says all breast cancer begins in the milk ducts. If we want to get rid of breast cancer, she says, we need to understand where it starts. Until recently, we weren't able to do that. Now, doctors can numb the nipple, thread a catheter into a milk duct and sample the fluid, cells, carcinogens, and hormones. By looking at the location where cancer develops, there's the potential to find out how it started and how to prevent it. In March, Dr. Love's Research Foundation sponsored a conference on this topic.

On MRI

Dr. Love is not a big fan of MRI. It's overly sensitive and finds everything -- most of which is not cancer, she says. MRI leads women on wild goose chases so Dr. Love likes to reserve this test for women at high-risk.

High in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, this healthy recipe is one worth trying. It's easy too. I love easy.

Black Bean Chili

8 ounces lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cans black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup water

Ever heard that the white stuff we eat is not so healthy? I've heard it, time and time again. I was reminded of this fact while at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona this past April. My Ranch nutritionist confirmed it. And the foods I ate while at this health and healing institute derived from the whole wheat, whole grain, whole goodness family. There wasn't a slice of white bread in sight. No white pasta either. Or white rice. I did have a white baked potato one night for dinner -- but it was the smallest white baked potato I'd ever seen.

It's not so hard to transition from white to non-white. Just search your grocery store aisles for the healthier alternatives -- and buy them. Or make your own varieties of nutritious stuff. Like whole-wheat pizza crust. Remember when I wrote about eating pizza once a week? Instead of ordering it, why not make your own? Here's how you might start:

Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust
Makes six pizza crusts, each containing 175 calories, 36 gm. carbohydrate, 1 gm. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 6 gm. protein, 150 mg. sodium, and 4 gm. fiber

I like to be in control sometimes -- not always, but sometimes. I don't ever wish to be the top boss in any work scenario. I prefer to have a job and do it well without the stress of managing a whole operation. But I do like to be in charge of my schedule, my kids, my thoughts and emotions, the way my life progresses. Cancer? I'd love to have direct supervision over this pesky subject. Sadly, I don't. So I do my best at controlling the factors that might increase my risk of cancer recurrence. I do it through exercise and diet.

Recently, I realized that controlling my diet is best done at home. I can buy the most nutritious foods at the grocery store, bring them home, prepare them in a healthy fashion, and concoct the perfect portion sizes. Take me out of this home element and I get a little scared.

The other night, my husband and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. We had a gift card and were eager for a night out. Before we escaped our crazy kid household, though, we went online to investigate the nutritional values of Red Lobster dishes. We were shopping for the healthiest options, and we were quite shocked to learn there aren't so many. Now we knew the all-fried fish platters would top the charts in calories, fat, and such. But fresh fish and veggies? Also fairly high in these same categories. We surmised it's the butter and oil used to cook our normally healthy fares that compromised these items and while we weren't so happy about the situation, we still went and did the best we could.

I knew when I landed at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona that I'd hear all sorts of health-conscious messages. I did. I got quite an earful. It was all great stuff. Go low fat. Cut sugar. Nix the soda. Up the protein. Increase the fiber. Minimize portion sizes. Decrease stress. Rest. Relax. Breath. And exercise -- a lot. I took it all in. I processed it. I stored it in my foggy chemo brain. And I try daily to put my new-found wisdom to work. It's going well -- in part because I have permission to take a break.

My Canyon Ranch nutritionist -- the one who taught me how to shop, cook, stock my pantry, and make healthy snacks and treats -- also gave me this happy nugget of news: eat pizza once per week. What? Can that be healthy?

Pizza is not the healthiest of food choices. Pizza Hut's personal pan cheese pizza -- you know, the little one containing just four small slices -- has a shocking 620 calories, 26 grams of fat, 69 carbohydrates, and seven grams of sugar. It does have 28 grams of protein. Still, not a very wise choice for those of us wishing to fill our bodies with power foods.

Eating an orange every day can not only boost your vitamin C but it can help get rid of a strain of the H. pylori bacteria that causes peptic ulcers and can lead to stomach cancer. Researchers in San Francisco found that infected people with high levels of vitamin C in their blood were less likely to test positive for the cancer causing strain. Here is a delicious, colorful, and healthy salad to serve your family. Remember to always buy organic when available.

Vicki's Citrus/Dijon Salad Dressing
4 tbsp. Orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tbsp. Lime juice
1 tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
Whisk together to make citrus salad dressing

Vicki's Orange and Avocado Salad
1/2 of a 10 oz. bag of mixed salad greens
1/2 of a 10 oz. bag baby spinach
1 Ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 Oranges peeled, seeded, and cut into slices
1 Cup grape tomatoes
1/2 Cup shredded carrots
3 Green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
Mix ingredients and toss in a large bowl then drizzle with the citrus salad dressing.
Serves 4.

Since the 1970s, researchers have suspected that diet and nutrition are related to colorectal cancer risk. Numerous studies published since that time have confirmed the connection between what we eat and risk of this cancer. Many health experts agree that a high fiber diet is important for cancer prevention, but questions remain about how much and which types of high fiber foods may reduce colorectal cancer risk most effectively. This has led to interest in specific high fiber foods, especially whole grains.

Start the day with a bowl of whole grain cereal or oatmeal. For cold cereals, choose one that contains at least 6 grams of fiber per serving and make sure you pick one where sugar does not appear first, second or third in the ingredient list. Oatmeal is not only high fiber but studies show that it helps reduce cholesterol. But if you are like me I am not fond of the mushy breakfast food. Until a dear musician friend introduced me to steel oats. Now I can't get enough of these nutty oats and even eat them for late night snacks.

Steel cut oats are whole grain groats which have been cut into only two or three pieces. Which means the the inner portion of the oat kernel is not missing like in rolled oats. They are golden in color and resemble small rice pieces. Steel-cut oats are also known as coarse cut oats, pinhead oats, Scotch oats, or Irish oats. Because the steel cut oats are more natural with less pre-processing, they may be more nutritious than the more popular rolled oats. But to me they give off a more nutty taste and I like the small crunch over the mushy consistency of the rolled oats. The cooking time is longer on steel cut oats but really worth the wait.

When shopping for them in your grocery store, look for canisters much like coffee cans as they are kept in air tight containers.

Preparing your Steel Oats.

1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
Fresh Blueberries or other fresh fruits.

Combine oats and other ingredients in medium saucepan and bring water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to keep from sticking on the bottom. For the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking time you will need to stir more frequently as it thickens. Spoon into a bowl and top with fresh fruit. Some people like to add a little milk to the bowl to give them a creamy texture. Makes 4 servings.

Today is my dad's 65th birthday. He always loved visiting Arizona over the years, he finally made his dream come true by moving to Tucson. My dad has always lived a very healthy lifestyle -- I believe that is why is he in such good physical and mental shape today.

One year before I was diagnosed with breast cancer we ran the 5k at the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure in Philadelphia. That was back in 2000, however my dad has been running in races for over thirty years. We also tackled the Avon 2 Day walk in New York City in the fall of 2003.

Jack is a non-smoker, a jogger, hiker, a golfer, and a chess player -- it is important to not only exercise the body -- but also the mind.

Keep it up dad. Happy birthday!! I love you!

Blogger Martha Edwards wrote about it on June 4 -- the fact that cancer cases are soon to explode in Asia, despite the obvious health benefits of Asian-based diets.

It's not the Asian diet influencing rising cancer rates, though. It's the bad Western habits Asians are adopting that will inevitably lead these folks down a dangerous road.

Smoking, drinking, and consumption of unhealthy foods -- all contributors to various cancers -- will drive Asian cancer rates up by 60 percent by the year 2020. Larger aging populations and lack of prevention and treatment in developing countries will also drive this trend.