Those venturing into space face a very serious occupational hazard -- cancer. The disease can be caused by radiation from the cosmic rays and solar flares astronauts encounter when they travel beyond the Earth's protective magnetic layer or magnetosphere.

British scientists are working on rectifying this problem by creating a Star Trek-style deflector shield to protect astronauts from radiation.

Think about this:

Scientists wish to mimic the magnetic field that protects the Earth with shields deployed around spacecraft and on the surfaces of planets to deflect harmful energetic particles.

Details, presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Preston, UK, include the following:

• The idea has been linked to the deflector shields that protect the USS Enterprise and other spacecraft on Star Trek. The shields, like on the TV show, could be switched on and off.

• In order to make the shield, scientists must generate a magnetic field and then fill it with ionized gas, or plasma. As energetic particles interact with the plasma, energy is sapped away from them, causing them to slow down.

• Protective shelters would not work on long-duration space journeys due to the drip of energized particles, thought to be as harmful as large solar storms.

"The nice thing is that magnet technology is really quite evolved here on Earth," says Dr. Mike Hapgood, from the Didcot-based research centre. The question is can you take it into space?"

A team from Rutherford-Appleton plans to build an artificial magnetosphere in the laboratory. They would eventually like to fly a test satellite which would test the technology in space.

She said she hopes we get to visit again sometime soon -- without feeling the need to talk solely about breast cancer. I have the same hope. Yet I am deeply satisfied with the conversation we shared about our similar cancer journeys -- mine two years old; hers brand new.

We had never before met -- or even spoken -- and knew each other only from an exchange of e-mails. It was this Cancer Blog that drew us together. She left a comment on one of my posts, I sent her a personal e-mail, and swiftly, our friendship blossomed.

I met my newest cancer friend this weekend -- face-to-face, up close and personal. It was lovely. We talked about chemotherapy -- she just completed her second treatment -- and wigs and radiation and about how our husbands and children cope with cancer. We talked for more than an hour, and then went our separate ways.

And now we are back to e-mail correspondence and our shared hope -- that we will one day meet again, to talk about more than just breast cancer.

I really do believe deep down in my gut that I will survive breast cancer -- that I will witness the wonder of my children growing up, that I will be married long enough that the years blur together, that I will live to a ripe old age. But I still have moments of doubt -- moments powerful enough to make me think I should not have a third child, just in case cancer comes back. To combat these moments -- that seem to surface more now that my treatment has stopped -- I try to keep busy, keep my mind occupied, keep living. My steps for surviving in the short-term include writing, journaling, exercising, relaxing, and spending time with family. But I also follow some steps for long-term survival -- steps that transcend the moment and give me purpose and direction. And here are seven of them.

I like to read. I just don't find much time to do it -- with two kids, two jobs, an unpredictable exercise schedule, endless medical appointments, and all the other craziness that accompanies life. I would like to find more time for books -- books a bit more complex than the one I found time to read at bedtime tonight about a frog and a toad who spend their days flying kites and enjoying picnics together. I would like to read books that capture relationships and life experiences and a bit of mystery too.

The last book I read -- The Shop on Blossom Street -- is the kind of book I like. It is easy to read and captivating and inspiring and comforting. It is the kind of book I want to keep reading -- long after I have to put it down to tend to distractions. Perhaps it's the thread of cancer woven into the storyline of this book that kept me wanting more.

The Shop on Blossom Street -- by Debbie Macomber -- follows four women who are all seeking change in their lives. The lead character opens a yarn shop, years after a cancer diagnosis and with the intention of moving forward despite an uncertain future. She hosts knitting classes and forms relationships with three other women in search of brighter days.

Character Lydia Hoffman -- the cancer survivor -- overcomes obstacles and challenges and even another cancer scare. She finds friendship and love and all sorts of unexpected discoveries. She even graces the pages of a second book -- A Good Yarn -- that follows her continued life journeys.

I have the book A Good Yarn. It's on my bookshelf. And I can't wait to read it. I just can't find the time.

I ran on my treadmill today while listening to a song by the band Green Day. I have always liked the song -- Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) -- but I like it more at this moment in my life than ever before because it speaks about looking back on the past in light of unexpected journeys -- and because my unexpected journey with breast cancer makes me look at everything differently. And when I look back at my life one day, I want to say that I had the time of my life. And that's why I like this song. And that's why I share it here today. Because I hope that in the end, we all can look back with the crystal clear knowledge that we had the time of our lives.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Some people detail their journeys with cancer through journaling -- like me -- and some use other mediums to express their emotions about this life-threatening disease.

Marilyn Whitney uses watercolors to sum up her experiences. As she underwent all sorts of procedures for breast cancer, two thoughts kept crossing her mind. One thought was the tendency to flee and the other was that there must be some way to help others by describing her procedures.

So after each hospital session, Marilyn would go home and craft a watercolor of what she had just seen and experienced. Then she would add a poem so the viewer would fully understand the message she was trying to convey.