These seven breast cancer survivors have been featured on The Cancer Blog before, all because of their own personal blogs and their own personal battles with cancer. Today, I offer you an update on these remarkable individuals whose stories have undoubtedly touched many lives.

Adriene

On April 26, 2006, Adriene wrote a final entry on her Survivor Blog. "This will be my last entry on the Survivor Blog," she writes. "I am finished. And I am complete, at least I feel I am. Now it's time to be in health and in love and in gratitude. To be at another level. It's time to move. Move. The wind beneath."

Breast cancer -- and writing about it -- is behind her. But Adriene is still inspiring readers on her blog. Check out her site's photo.a.day feature. It's nothing but moving.

Jen

Jen, a young wife and mom who blogs My Journey through Motherhood, once wrote about breast cancer every few days. Now she can't seem to find time to keep up with her entries. What good news for this survivor who is busy with life and not cancer.

Sandee

Sandee, author of I Will Survive, is quite a breast cancer warrior. She has been fighting the disease and it's cruel spread for many years and finds herself living with constant treatment. Her most recent blog entry, posted on April 14, reads:

Feeling down, I just can't shake this tired feeling, cancer treatments may keep you alive but they totally change everything about you. I know I should be grateful but I miss the way I used to be. I miss my hair ... I miss my eyebrows ... I miss my eyelashes ... I miss my toenails ... I miss my slender body ... I miss my energy ... I miss shopping for hours ... I miss not being afraid ... I miss not taking medication ... I miss volunteering ... I miss working out ... I miss being pain-free ... I miss feeling pretty ... I miss wearing high heels ... I miss driving 5-speed ... I miss not being able to plan ahead ... I miss going to family functions ... I miss feeling immortal ... I miss my health ... I miss my old breasts ... I miss having flawless skin ... I miss a lot!

Despite her uphill battle, Sandee ends each blog entry with a random thought and something for which she is thankful. Her random thought on April 14: Regardless, I'm still happy to be alive! And then: Today I am thankful for my kids.

Valerie

Valerie blogs The Beck Family and fills her space with happy photos and positive words. Busy recuperating from a hysterectomy, growing out her post-chemotherapy hair, and training to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Valerie is doing well -- and keeping busy going to baseball games and Las Vegas with girlfriends. She has a new puppy and a great outlook on life after cancer.

"Our life is back to normal and normal things are happening," she writes. "Our transmission went out on our Yukon last week, and it was under warranty, so it is in the shop. Our washing machine stopped working due to me overloading it too many times, so we went out and got a new front loading one. Its pretty cool!!! and that's it. Everyone else is doing great. We still love our new puppy.

Patty

Patty's husband blogs Patty's Journey. "Patty hasn't been feeling great the last few days," he writes on April 25. "She's had a light headed feeling and can't seem to get a deep breath. She's not sure if she's just become acutely aware of her breathing or what. I've read that the Herceptin can cause dizziness in 13% of patients so I'm not sure if this is what this could be or not. Hopefully, it is nothing. She's sees the doctor tomorrow so we'll see what he says. Pray that these issues resolve for her."

Patty, a mom to four young daughters, is finishing up radiation while receiving Herceptin treatment.

Marjorie

Marjorie and her husband Gordon take turns updating Beating Breast Cancer. But the last entry on this site was posted on November 28 and other than what Marjorie writes on this date, I am not sure how she is doing.

"On the day of the poisoning by taxotere I feel OK," writes Marjorie on this November day. "Next day my body feels strange and tired. The answer should be wee nap in the afternoon, but NO. My mind is so wired and agitated I found myself planning next year's Christmas dinner -- not this year's. This goes on for two or three days then WHAM, I'm the most depressing person to be around."

I hope Marjorie's absence from writing is an indication she is thriving and is too distracted by the joys of life to take a seat at the keyboard.

Kristina

Kristina blogs for The Cancer Blog -- and also for herself, her friends, and her family on her personal site.

Kristi, who calls herself a young Breast Cancer Survivor, Freethinker, New Marine Aquarist, Reach for Recovery Volunteer, reluctant accountant, freelance writer, voracious reader and cancer blogger, most recently is mourning this loss of her beloved cat Cleo, making a difference with the Young Survival Coalition, and laughing it up with friends traveling similar breast cancer paths.

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.

I've been reading her blog ever since Kristina Collins first wrote about her. I've been reading about her battle with leukemia -- for the second time -- and about the bone marrow transplant she received just recently. I read about her brother who became her bone marrow donor and her family and friends who became fierce supporters and cheerleaders for this young woman sure to beat cancer six years after she first conquered the disease.

Courtney Nicole did not win this battle. Just days ago, in the midst of her bone marrow transplant process, Courtney's body was infected with a bacteria that forced the removal of one leg. It turned out the bacteria was not confined to her leg -- it had invaded her entire body -- and it became clear that the fighting spirit of this woman was needed not here on Earth, but in the heavens above.

On November 14, 2006, Courtney earned her angel wings. In the words of her sister, "she will be young and beautiful forever and always." Indeed, she will.

I will visit my oncologist on Monday for my every-three-month check-up. It's the recurring appointment that will appear on my calendar until I hit the five-year-survival milestone. I am three years away.

It's the appointment that consumes at least half of my day due to endless waiting -- waiting for a parking spot, waiting in the lobby, waiting in the exam room, waiting to pay. It's the appointment that officially begins with the drawing of my blood for lab work, continues with a check of my vitals, proceeds with a history review and physical exam with a medical student. It's the appointment that brings me face to face with the man who prescribed my treatment, the man who offers me strategies for living beyond treatment, the man who helps keep me alive. My oncologist.

And so I am preparing for this visit in the same exact way as I always do. I set aside a large chunk of time for this time-consuming extravaganza. I think a lot about the lab work and wonder if something suspicious will surface. I think a lot about the physical exam and wonder if an enlarged lymph node or mass in my breast will be discovered. And I think a lot about what I want to ask -- because this is my only very own allotted time for unraveling the mysteries of cancer with the man who knows the topic like no one else I know.

On Monday, I will ask a few questions. I will ask about tumor markers, about why I am not tested for these indicators of tumor growth, a standard option for my co-writer and co-cancer survivor Kristina Collins. I will ask about Zoloft, about how long I should continue taking this anti-depressant and how to best wean myself from this drug when the time comes. I will ask about the flu shot, about whether or not I can get one during this same appointment.

And that's all. For now. Until three more months pass and my calendar tells me it's time to return for this recurring appointment that takes me closer to the five-year mark.

Sheryl Crow, breast cancer survivor and active advocate for breast cancer issues, is advising women to demand immediate additional testing when breast calcifications are discovered -- rather than accepting the wait-and-see approach with instructions to come back in six months for another mammogram.

Crow is quoted as saying, "If, after a routine mammogram, the person who is examining you says, 'There's some calcification in your breasts, we'll keep our eye on it; come back in six months' -- don't. Schedule a needle biopsy now. If I had waited six months to do the biopsy, who knows where I'd be today."

Good advice for women who suspect anything is wrong. As our dear friend Kristina Collins, who blogs with us, recently shared in her personal experience of delayed breast cancer diagnosis, when she first discovered a lump in her breast and sought medical attention, she was told not to worry -- she was too young to have breast cancer. No tests were done and Kristina was sent home. She initially trusted her doctor's opinion. Nearly a year later, she demanded tests be done and was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Unfortunately Kristina lost almost a year when her breast cancer could have been treated at an earlier stage. Unlike Crow, who wonders where she might be now had she waited another six months before breast cancer diagnosis, Kristina wonders the opposite -- what it might have been like if she had been diagnosed and treated sooner. We must be our own best advocate when it comes to our health and insist on cancer screening at the first sign of trouble.

Osteosarcoma begins in the bones. It is the most common type of bone cancer tumor in the group of bone cancers called osteogenic sarcomas. It affects 5 percent of all teens diagnosed with cancer. Symptoms usually include pain or swelling in the legs or arms.

Tina blogs about her daughter Kristina Rose. Kristina's website caught my eye one day because we share the same name. I wanted to read about her story. I have since then been in contact with Kristina's mom Tina. She is an amazing mom who lives with the fear of Kristina's cancer returning. Kristina is doing wonderful and is now over a two year survivor!

The Relay for Life is something that is very important to Tina. She wants to make sure that a cure is found! You can go to the American Cancer Society website to find more information about the Relay for Life or go here to find information about the Relay of Life that Kristina and her mom will be involved in.

On March 29th, 2004 Kristina was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. She was only 11 years old. She is a beautiful young woman now, as you can see! Tina might not have too much to blog about these days except that Kristina is being a normal teenager and spending lots of time on the phone. This I love to hear!