It's hard to describe the feelings that overwhelmed me during my bad days with cancer. I could call them consuming and crushing and sickening and frightening and crippling and still not completely cover all the bases. It's much easier to describe the feelings that overwhelmed me on my good days with cancer. I felt -- and still mostly feel this way -- happy and spunky and motivated and invigorated and fulfilled. And I felt loved -- because most of my bad days were turned around by the love of others. It was like clockwork. When I needed it most, a surprise awaited me in my mailbox or my inbox or on on the other side of my front door or on my front porch. These surprises strengthened me on my bad days -- and sometimes beyond the bad days. They still help me really -- because my memory of how they saved me from days of despair continues to fuel my good days. And here are seven of my special surprises.

I'm not much of a cook -- I don't like to cook, I don't cook well, and I am never really enticed to spend any amount of time in the kitchen preparing food. So my husband picks up my slack much of the time. Tonight he made turkey meatballs with rice and green peppers -- and some other veggie side dishes too -- and he cooks pasta and grills chicken and can successfully feed our family of four without hesitation or frustration. For me, cooking, hesitation, and frustration all roll into one. And that's why I avoid anything of the culinary persuasion and thank my lucky stars for a husband who doesn't mind cooking endeavors. But sometimes, I am forced to enter the kitchen -- I have two growing boys who need to eat, after all, and I am the one mostly at home catering to their every need. So I do okay -- I try to maintain a healthily family menu and I can handle the basics and no one is really complaining so I guess I'm holding my own. But I'd like to find more pleasure in cooking -- and more variety and more creativity too. Perhaps free weekly recipes sent to my e-mail inbox would be a push in the right direction.

The American Institute for Cancer Research offers this service, and I am just moments away from subscribing to this offering that was started by a cancer group who sends out to anyone who signs up free recipes that are mostly lowfat, high-fiber, and plant-based. Launched just several months ago, this service already has more than 10,000 subscribers -- and many are cancer survivors who have learned to make everything from cherry spritzers to brown rice pudding to sweet potato and peanut chili. A name and e-mail address is all it takes to get the ball rolling -- just visit www.aicr.org and look for the health-e-recipes area.  Soon, simple and nutritious recipes will be at your fingertips. And at mine too. Unless I decide to pass them off to my husband.