My mom's best friend died from pancreatic cancer just three months after her diagnosis with the disease. One of my co-workers lost her mother to the same disease just weeks after diagnosis. Another co-worker's husband lost his battle with pancreatic cancer after a 15-month all-out fight. And a family friend has somehow been surviving this deadly disease for years now. He's the exception, defying the odds rarely in favor of long-term survival.

About 33,730 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. Many of them -- 32,300 -- will die from the disease that is rarely caught early. Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Bubbling from the earth in Balmoral, Scotland is a mineral water that appears to slow the growth of cancerous cells -- so say scientists who tested the mineral water against tap water. In laboratory testing, the mineral water slowed colon cancer cells 62 percent better than tap water; slowed liver cancer by 35 percent, and slowed cervical cancer by 21 percent better than tap water.

Deeside Mineral Water first came to be known as offering health benefit in 1760, when a local woman is reported to have been cured of Scrofula by drinking and bathing in the Balmoral waters. Back then, the waters were thought of as an agent in miraculous effect. Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria are said to have been attracted to the area for this reason.

A Deeside Mineral Water spokesman is adamant in insisting that they do not believe that the bottled water holds out any promise of a miracle cure -- only that it might be considered a complementary therapy in conjunction with conventional medical treatments. We are certainly glad they made that clear.

From our understanding of the online literature published by the Deeside Mineral Water company, the bottled water needs to be consumed on a daily basis for a number of weeks to show benefit, and one would have to continue drinking the bottled water to maintain health benefits the mineral water is reported to offer. For more information, visit the Deeside Mineral Water website.

I don't even know where to start with the news I've just heard -- news that just popped up in front of me in the form of an e-mail while I was sitting at my computer, in the midst of a pretty happy day. The title of the e-mail that entered my in-box read I miss you. It was from my friend Amy in Ohio. Amy and I have never met, have only e-mailed and spoken on the phone, and are fortunate to have found each other as a result of a mutual friend -- Ericha -- who connected us because of our similar breast cancer journeys. Amy and I are both in our 30s, both have a husband and two young children, and both were diagnosed with cancer that had not spread to our lymph nodes. We felt lucky. But the news that Amy shared with me today is not so lucky.

Love, Amy

And so that is all I know. And it's really all I need to know. It's enough to know that cancer is unpredictable -- despite the statistics that indicated we both had pretty high odds of surviving. It's enough to shatter my hopeful spirit. It's enough to make me wonder if this will happen to me. It's enough to make me truly sad.

Yet in the midst of this news, I will hang on to one thought -- Miracles happen every day.

One of the first books I read after my breast cancer diagnosis was issued in hardback in 1986 -- 20 years ago -- and then was published again and reissued and reprinted in 1990, 1998, and 2002.While the cover has changed and perhaps some wording too, the message in this book -- Love, Medicine, & Miracles by Bernie S. Siegel, M.D. -- remains unchanged.  And it is inside the covers of this book that I keep learning that I have the capacity and power to become an exceptional patient -- despite the fact that I've been faced with a life-shattering diagnosis of cancer.

At the same Atlanta meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology where the breast cancer drug Tykerb was touted as perhaps the next wonder drug, findings were also released concerning chemotherapy and end-stage cancer. It seems that many patients in the last weeks and days of their lives are receiving chemotherapy -- when it is clear that there is no hope for survival. Perhaps patients don't want to give up and so they choose to fight to the very end. I think I would be hard-pressed to throw in the towel if a doctor thought I might benefit from continued treatment. Miracles do happen.

Doctors may be part of the problem, though, according to researchers. Patients don't want to give up -- and neither do doctors. But cancer specialists report that overly aggressive treatment gives false hope and puts people though unnecessary suffering and costly ordeals when hospice would be a more effective route. The purpose of hospice -- to help people die with dignity and in comfort -- is ineffective, however, when it's not used to its full potential. A large review of Medicare records showed in 1999 that nearly 12 percent of cancer patients died after receiving chemotherapy in the last two weeks of life. This was up from 1993 -- 10 percent -- and is probably higher today. These individuals could have been peacefully preparing for death and instead were suffering through the trials of harsh treatment.

The solution -- that must be implemented by doctors -- is a willingness to accept that there is a time to stop followed by an honest conversation with the patient whose cancer has spread widely and is incurable.

Another study presented at this Atlanta meeting revealed that some patients are not being offered newer treatments that might truly save their lives. New lung cancer treatments have extended survival from 20 percent at one year to 50 percent, for example. Yet only 11 percent of doctors in one Wisconsin study would refer such patients for treatment.

It would be nice to know for sure that one life is about to end, regardless of treatment, and to know that another might be saved because of treatment. And maybe one day -- when treating cancer is an exact science -- this will be a reality.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. -- Shakespeare.

For Sonia, Alicia, Gloria, Maria -- women of deep religious faith who made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico City -- the visit was miraculous. Blanca Crovetto-Avancena arranged the Pasos de Esperanza, or Steps of Hope ten-mile walk the women took to the basilica. She runs the weekly San Francisco East Bay Spanish-speaking women's emotional and social support group for Latina women living with cancer. Crovetto-Avancena said the visit has lifted the spirits of these women trying to survive cancer and given each of them a remarkable sense of renewed hope.

In the feature article, Latina women 'cured' on pilgrimage, Crovetto-Avancena said that "while Americans organize fundraisers with walk-a-thons and marathons, those types of events are not part of the Latin American culture. But praying to the Virgin Mary at the place where she is said to have appeared in Mexico holds great significance."

Knowing this, she came up with the idea of arranging the pilgrimage as a way for Latinas to raise money for the support group that would also provide personal spiritual benefit for the women. All four women have reported great improvement in the way they feel. Sonia said, "Right now, nothing hurts. I don't feel that aching anymore that I felt when I left." Alicia said, "I feel cured spiritually, mentally and physically." To read more about the trip, go here.

In 2002, on Christmas eve, at the age of two, little Katie was diagnosed with acute precursor B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. At the time of diagnosis, she was in the hospital. When told she would be there for awhile, Katie worried Santa would not know where she had gone -- would not be able to find her. Her parents, in all the efforts and time spent getting a proper diagnosis for Katie, had not shopped for Christmas. Both were saddened that Katie would not have any presents come Christmas morning. To their surprise, Katie woke up on Christmas morning to find presents just for her. As her parents tell the story, "The surprises and gifts from people we hadn't met before were pouring in all day. Even Santa came to visit and had his picture taken with Katie. Katie was very happy that Santa found her."

Katie suffered compression fractures in her spine as a result of the cancer and chemotherapy which kept her immobile most of the time. Her chemotherapy would continue for 2 years and 2 months. To pass the time, Katie and her mom watched cooking shows on television. To celebrate the end of chemotherapy, Katie decided she wanted to create a cookbook, and use the money to help other kids with cancer. She contacted many of the chefs from the cooking shows she spent months watching, and they readily agreed to donate recipes for her cookbook. Katie's Cooking: A Cookbook Celebrating Life after Childhood Cancer, which includes 782 recipes, features such celebrity chefs as Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Biba Caggiano, Paul Prudhomme, Ina Garten, Michael Chiarello, Paula Deen, and Sara Moulton; in addition to recipes from cookbook authors, famous restaurants, and popular nightspots. To learn more about Katie and her cookbook, visit Katie's Wish website. Katie, now six-years-old, has been cancer-free since February 2005!  

Based on a true story, The Blue Butterfly is about Pete Carlton, 10, who is terminally ill with brain cancer. Pete's last wish is to catch the mythic and elusive Blue Morpho, considered the most beautiful butterfly on earth. Knowing her son only has a few months left to live, Teresa is determined to make her son's last wish a reality. She convinces Alan Osborne, a renowned entomologist who prefers insects to people, to take the wheelchair bound boy to South America, into the Costa Rican rain forest, as this is the only place where the butterfly can be found. Osborne carries Pete on his back through the jungles in search of the Blue Morpho.

The plot synopsis goes on to describe The Blue Butterfly as a journey of courage, redemption and love. A magical film about a courageous young boy and a jaded man who chase a dream, and whose lives are forever changed. According to the producer of this film, Pete came back from the adventure walking, and is in his 20's now.

This is an independent film that has been shown in film festivals such as the Tribeca Film Festival and the Chicago Int’l Children’s Film Festival, and small theaters since 2004. Starring William Hurt, Pascale Bussieres, and Marc Donato, The Blue Butterfly will be released on DVD in May 2006. As the movie states, the only way to catch a miracle is to believe in it.