Although it was not revealed at the time, first lady Laura Bush was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in October, and underwent a surgical procedure to have the cancerous tumor removed from her shin shortly before the elections on November 7th. When the first lady's press secretary Susan Whitson was asked why the information about Mrs. Bush's cancer diagnosis was withheld from the public, she responded by saying, "This medical procedure was a private matter for Mrs. Bush, but when asked by the media today, we answered the question."

In 2001, President Bush had four suspicious facial lesions surgically removed that can lead to cancer if left untreated. At the time, they had not progressed into cancer.

Mrs. Bush is reported to be doing well, and is optimistic that the cancer was discovered early.

According to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, squamous cell skin cancer is a type of tumor that affects the middle layer of the skin. Over 90 percent of skin cancers occur on areas of the skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation. Squamous cell cancer is a malignancy that is more aggressive than basal cell cancer, but still may be relatively slow-growing.

When the First Lady of Surfing, Rell Sunn was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, she was told she had months to live. She lived each day as if it were her last -- with complete passion and compassion -- and lived another 15 years.

When I posted that each year during the Luau & Longboard Invitational event to raise money for the Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center, the Rell Sunn-Queen of Makaha Award in memory of Rell Sunn is given to honor the person or organization that best displays the qualities of compassion, unselfishness, aloha spirit and dedication in the fight against cancer -- I went in search to learn more about Rell Sunn.

Despite tensions between the United States and the Middle East, Laura Bush announced Monday a plan to raise breast cancer awareness in the Middle East -- first with partnerships with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and later with Morocco and Jordan. Joining forces also with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Johns Hopkins Medical Center, the First Lady outlined a plan that will allow governments, hospitals, researchers, and survivors to work globally to defeat breast cancer. Campaigns specific to each country will target research, training, and community-outreach programs. The reason for this partnership -- to raise awareness in countries where women are too embarrassed or too uninformed to seek treatment -- stems from compassion and human decency and a desire to form diplomatic friendships too. Laura Bush, whose own mother is a breast cancer survivor, shared that the tragedy of losing a loved one to breast cancer -- and the joy of watching a loved one survive this same disease -- is felt universally. Breast cancer affects all women in all countries. Borders make no difference in this matter. And helping save lives is the right thing to do.