Here in North America, clean water is something we most certainly take for granted. We flush it down the toilet and the sink, we throw it out if it is not perfectly fresh. We're afraid of out perfectly clean tap water so we invest in expensive filters or buy our water from the store. And yet so many people out there would do anything for that tap water.

Here's a story from Dr. Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent, about a village in China that gets its water supply from the Hengshui River, which happens to be the river that receives heavy metal and mining deposits. On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most toxic--too toxic to safely touch, let alone ingest--the Hengshui rates a staggering 5. Full of known carcinogens like arsenic, lead, zinc and cadmium, the water is slowly killing the people who rely on it, and they have no choice but depend on this water source -- there are no others.

I can't imagine living in a world where the price you pay for water is your life, where you can't rely on anyone to step in and make sure you have a clean water supply. It's truly heartbreaking.

Late last March fans of rock legend and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler became concerned over speculation that Tyler had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Even though the remaining Rockin' The Joint show dates were cancelled, everyone connected to Tyler assured the public the rumors were false. Steven Tyler did not have cancer. He was suffering from strained vocal cords and needed a rest.

At the time, bassist Tom Hamilton explained the cancelled shows by saying, "You know Steven. Anything worth doing, to him, is worth overdoing," in reference to the fact that the band had been touring more now than it did 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, several months later it was announced that Hamilton had been diagnosed with cancer.

While the rumors had quieted concerning Tyler's health, now and then something new would come to our attention that made us wonder if he was okay. A reader wrote in that he had seen Tyler at the oncology clinic at a hospital he was visiting. We kept that under our hat.

Last night, Tyler appeared on Access Hollywood and for the first time, publicly discussed his health. No, he was not diagnosed with throat cancer -- but he had faced a serious health crisis and decided to speak about it. Tyler said he had been fighting a secret battle with a silent killer -- Hep C. Diagnosed three years ago, he was told by his doctor, Deepak Chopra's brother, that it was time he sought treatment. Tyler agreed to undergo a year of chemotherapy with interferon. He stated it nearly killed him but managed to stay with it and complete treatment. Tyler had Hep C for many years, and was asymptomatic, which is typical.

During the interview, Tyler said, "Hepatitis C is the one that, of all the people in this room, at least three have it and don't know it." He would like to raise awareness about Hep C and mentioned he might appear on Oprah for that purpose. "It's one of those things people don't speak about it, but it is treatable."

Almost 4 million Americans, or 1.8 percent of the U.S. population, have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV); it is the most prevalent cause of chronic liver disease in the United States. 80 percent of those with Hep C have no symptoms. Chronic hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

If you missed the television Access Hollywood interview with Steven Tyler, the video segment of the program is available online here.

I have a cabinet full of supplements I've never taken. I've never been convinced they will do much for me -- other than add an easy-to-forget routine to my day -- and doctors have typically advised me that a healthy diet will deliver just about everything I need for optimal functioning. I still wonder sometimes if I get enough calcium and at times I have taken iron supplements when doctors have determined I lacked appropriate iron levels. But I have never wondered about all the other pills and powders and liquids that claim to promote health -- and sometimes prevent cancer. And after reading a recap of a study in the September 2006 Oprah magazine, I am further convinced that supplements are just not for me.

A report from ConsumerLab.com (CL), a company that tests and certifies supplements, suggests that some people might be ingesting too much lead as they try to keep cancer at bay. CL randomly selected various green tea preparations from store shelves, websites, and direct marketers and found that two out of four contained what is considered unacceptable levels of lead. Green tea products they recommend avoiding are Futurebiotics Premium Extract Standardized Green Tea tablets and Herbal Select Standardized Green Tea Extract. Products found to be totally free of lead are Life Extension Mega Green Tea Extract, Nature's Bounty Green Tea Extract, Pharmanex Tegreen 97, and Puritan's Pride Green Tea Extract.

Experts believe that some supplements may help prevent cancer. But most testing is done on food so we can't be entirely sure about the safety of supplements. Their advice is this -- make a change through a healthy diet rather than supplements. This is just what I plan to do.

The 2006 ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic, held at Lost Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley, California, in a benefit to raise money for The V Foundation cancer research grants, raised $1.1 million dollars this year.

George Bodenheimer, Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks and President, ESPN and ABC Sports announced this record-setting fundraising total at the event attended by celebrities such as National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Julius Dr. J Erving; National Football League Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Joe Theismann; actor Haley Joel Osmont; 13-year-old golfing phenom Dakoda Dowd; Olympic skier Bode Miller; Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil; and Hercules TV-series star Kevin Sorbo.

The V Foundation was founded by the late NC State basketball coach ESPN broadcaster Jim Valvano and brother Nick Valvano, with a goal to fund cancer research. In the last five years, the foundation has raised over $50 million dollars -- money that has gone to fund cancer research grants nationwide. The V Foundation is involved in advocacy, education, fundraising and philanthropy.

You can watch the ESPY Golf Classic, which will be featured on ESPN Classic, August 13 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Mammograms may not be solely for detecting breast cancer anymore -- they may also lead to detection of heart disease. Calcifications may be detected in the arteries of the heart during routine mammograms. Essentially, this indicates hardening of the arteries and can be a sign of heart disease. This is nothing new, really -- doctors have long thought that hardening of breast arteries relate to heart disease. But this relationship had never really been studied -- until recently. Several large studies and many smaller ones have shown a correlation between these vascular calcifications on arteries in the breast because of the similar size to the arteries in the heart. And this correlation revealed itself for one woman -- Bunnie Gleiman -- when she went for her annual mammogram and learned that she had these calcifications on the arteries in her breast. She says her mammogram saved her life -- but not from breast cancer. Now on medications for cholesterol and blood pressure, Bunnie reports that she is happy and healthy. Thanks to her mammogram.

Last year, ten people took part in an investigative study to test for the presence of toxic chemicals in their body. The Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition took hair, blood, and urine samples and tested for plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates; the flame retardants PBDEs; lead, arsenic, and mercury; perfluorinated chemicals like those used to make Teflon; and pesticides -- including the now banned PCBs and DDT. Many of these are know to increase cancer risks. The purpose of the study was two-fold -- the researchers wanted to know which chemicals are getting into our bodies, at what levels, and to better understand the potential harm posed by poor regulation of chemicals. Second, the researchers hope that by understanding the dangers we face, better solutions can be developed to eliminate the exposures to toxins from the environment. The results shocked and surprised the participants in the study. It might disturb you too, as most of us carry a similar body burden of cancer-causing chemicals.

The results of an Environmental Working Group Body Burden testing program has revealed that mothers and daughters share a common body burden of at least 35 environmental cancer-causing chemicals including phthalate plasticizers, lead, methyl mercury, brominated flame retardants, and Teflon and Scotchgard perfluorochemicals PFOA and PFOS. These pollutants appear to be passed from a mother's placenta or breast milk into her daughter's body. Some of the key findings in this testing program found:

• Daughters tested had more chemicals in common with their mothers than with a group of 16 other women who were tested. This underscores the long-lasting influence of the pollution passed from mother to daughter, and their shared exposures as the child grows up. 
• The chemical burden inherited by daughters at birth will last for decades, some for a lifetime -- and the daughters will pass this same chemical burden on to their children.
• Chemicals that persist in the body were found at higher levels in mothers than daughters, showing how chemicals can build up in the body over a lifetime.
  

According to EWG, the six biomonitoring programs -- conducted between 2000 and 2006 -- revealed a total of 455 different pollutants, pesticides, and industrial chemicals in the bodies or cord blood of 72 different people -- including ten newborn babies with an average of 200 chemicals in each child.

"EPA studies show that children from birth to age two are ten times more sensitive to cancer-causing chemicals than adults," said Jane Houlihan, EWG's vice president for research. "Scientists have found that chemicals toxic effects can be passed down for four generations, by causing permanent genetic changes that can be inherited. A stew of toxic chemicals is not the legacy mothers want to hand down to their children." To read an overview of all results from EWG's Body Burden testing program, go here.