North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow is still in the game, despite her difficult match-up with a fierce opponent -- breast cancer.

Yow is fighting for the third time a disease that has been spreading throughout her body since last fall. She has sores in her mouth, hasn't been able to eat, and receives regular doses of pain medication, antibiotics, and nutrients to combat the effects of three chemotherapy drugs that are cycling through her tired body.

Still, Yow is never far from the sidelines.

She was right there in the mix the day NC State named its women's basketball court in her honor. Shortly after, she was wheeled off the court on a stretcher, headed for the hospital so she could be pumped full of drugs. She was at work the next day. And at the unveiling of the Kay Yow Court. And at her game that same night. And at the end of the night, with an oncologist and nurse, she was accompanied to her office where she was once again hooked up to an IV so drugs could once again drip into Yow's exhausted body.

Yow, 65, is tough and determined.

"I know people are saying I'm doing too much," Yow says. "I know I have to take care of myself. But it's not like I have a cold or pneumonia and if I rest it will get better. Rest is not going to cure cancer. If rest were just the answer, that's what I would do."

"But if someone can be involved with something that is a passion for them, then I don't think there's anything wrong in trying to do that. Coaching lifts me up. Once the ball is tossed up, I forget pretty much about everything and just focus on the game. If I just do nothing, I feel like I'm giving in to the disease."

For anyone keeping score on the battle between Yow and cancer, it's clear Yow is a winner.

Previous posts about Kay Yow are as follows:
NC State coach takes leave to fight breast cancer
NC State basketball coach Kay Yow back in the game

Called a special edition with a bedside manner, Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects For Dummies, is a free book made available to cancer patients and their caregivers with advice and tips on managing the side effects of chemotherapy such as hair loss, nausea, and weakness.

According to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, who is offering the book to those interested in receiving a copy, research indicates that while the use of current anti-nausea and vomiting treatments decreases the frequency and severity of side effects, 60 percent of patients still suffer from nausea and vomiting.

The aim of Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects For Dummies is to offer information about nutrition, meditation, support groups and other techniques that might help during treatment.

Written by a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a supportive care nurse, physician and a cancer survivor, you can order your free copy of Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects For Dummies online here.

Breast cancer statistics for 2003 are in, and researchers have announced that the number of breast cancer cases dropped by an impressive seven percent, with the greatest drop occurring in women between ages 50-69 diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive (ER-positive) breast cancer.

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers attribute this good news to the fact that in the same time frame, millions of women stopped taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) over concerns that HRT led to an increased risk for breast cancer.

If the statistics hold for upcoming years, HRT will have proven a greater causative effect leading to breast cancer than originally believed.

"Incidence of breast cancer had been increasing in the 20 or so years prior to July 2002, and this increase was over and above the known role of screening mammography," stated Donald Berry, Ph.D. "HRT had been proposed as a possible factor, although the magnitude of any HRT effect was not known. Now the possibility that the effect is much greater than originally thought all along is plausible, and that is a remarkable finding."

While the researchers best guesstimate is that HRT might be the contributing factor to the drop in ER-positive breast cancer cases for 2003, they cannot be 100 percent certain at this point. We will need to wait and see what the years 2004 and 2005 tell us about any continuing declines in breast cancer cases, and learn what other, if any, contributing factors are responsible for the decline.

Previous posts we have done regarding HRT and breast cancer:

• Hooray for HRT!?
• HRT and smoking dramatically increases breast cancer risk
• HRT increases breast cancer risks

The Lung Cancer Alliance -- the only national non-profit organization dedicated entirely to lung cancer patient support and advocacy -- asked pulmonary clinical nurse specialist Donna Wilson to help educate the lung cancer community about healthy breathing. Wilson agreed and her breathing tips, available on podcast, are intended to relieve shortness of breath related to pain or activity. Her three breathing techniques -- detailed here -- are simple, easy-to-understand, and truly relaxing.

Before beginning this series of breathing exercises, stop whatever you are doing and sit down or lean against a wall.

• Place chin to your chest to relax your neck muscles. Breathe 10 short bursts of air in and out of your lips. As you expel air, neck and chest muscles should relax.
• Place chin to your chest. Breathe three times in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Place chin to your chest. Close your mouth, and breathe four times in and out only through your nose.
  

After completing these exercises, lift your head, breathe normally, and let your shoulders relax. In a few minutes, your entire body should start to relax -- and shortness of breath will resolve.

I don't have lung cancer -- but I do have moments of anxiety and panic. So I plan to save these tips. And I plan to use them. And I plan to share them. Because we all can benefit from a dose of relaxation.

I never thought the time would come when I could fill a page with names of people I know who have cancer or have died from cancer. When my mom's very best friend died years and years ago of pancreatic cancer, it seemed a remote chance that something like that would happen to someone I know. And then slowly, either because cancer cases increased or because my awareness increased -- or both -- my list of people with cancer grew and grew and grew. And now it's quite long. And it's quite disturbing. And it's empowering too -- because most people on my growing list are surviving. And here are seven survivors who are somehow connected to me -- seven survivors who make up just the tip of the cancer iceberg in my life that stretches far and wide.

There is someone, or several people -- at the doctor's office, the oncology clinic, the chemotherapy treatment center, the radiation department -- that took the extra moment to comfort you or give you hope or listen to you share your fears or concerns or educate you in how to optimize your chances at cancer survivorship. Perhaps the nutritionist who took a genuine interest and spent time explaining the benefits of a cancer prevention diet.

Healing Baskets features the Miracle Worker Mug and suggests that this might be the perfect gift for a nurse or special caregiver in the health field who took extra time for you during the challenges of cancer treatment. I think it is a delightful idea!

My port -- that thing that pops up from under the skin on my collarbone, that thing that by default stays in place because I can't decide whether or not to remove it -- is now officially in maintenance mode, now that my treatment for breast cancer is complete. My last Herceptin infusion was on June 28. And my first port flush was today. For as long as I keep my port -- and for as long as it has no real use -- I must have it flushed one time each month. So today, I strolled into the cancer infusion center where I've spent many hours and this time spent just a few minutes -- enough time for my usual chemo nurse to puncture the skin on top of my port, push through a rather large needle, and inject a dose of blood thinner into the lines of the port to keep clots away. The whole procedure was harmless, painless, no big deal at all. And I will return one month from today for a repeat performance.

One day these once-a-month visits may become a hassle. After all, I have to find a place for this appointment in my already-busy schedule and find childcare for my kids and find a place to park. I have to numb my port and endure a needle stick and sometimes fight traffic to get home. And the whole trip to and from the cancer center takes longer than the procedure itself. Clearly, this may be a waste of time for a port I don't even need right now. But at the moment, this visit is just what I need while I sort out the details of my post-treatment world. I need to go back to the infusion center. I need the comfort of the drive. I need to feel part of the chemo community. I need medical people swirling around me. I need a bit of hand holding. For now anyway.

Diahann Carroll, an actress who started her career back in the 50s, and Oscar nominee who has starred in such TV shows as Dynasty, will be reaching out to older women in an effort to raise breast cancer awareness and the breast cancer risks they face. Carroll, who was diagnosed at the age of 63, spoke with CBS The Early Show's Julie Chen about the shock of being diagnosed with breast cancer when she had no family history for the disease. At the time, she said she was much more concerned about preventing age-related diabetes and heart disease.

According to recent surveys, so are most postmenopausal women. The results of a new Harris Interactive survey of nearly 20,000 women revealed that only 37 percent of women 55 or older are concerned about developing breast cancer as they age. The findings also show that three out of every four women don't know that being over 50 is the greatest risk for developing breast cancer. In fact, most women believe that the greatest risk factors are having a family member with the disease and inherited genetic mutations.

Carroll has been hired by Eli Lilly as the spokesperson for the launch the Strength in Knowing: The Facts and Fiction of Breast Cancer Risk campaign and website created to educate postmenopausal women about the real breast cancer risk factors. In the new fall TV season, Carroll will become a part of Grey's Anatomy. She would not give Chen any details. You can watch The CBS The Early Show interview with Carroll here.

Marjory Cameron has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Marjory, a nurse, and her husband Gordon, a family doctor, live near Edinburgh, Scotland and they are blogging Twinkle Twinkles about her day-to-day breast cancer experience. The Cameron's began blogging as a way to reach out to others and create connections that will bring everyone comfort. According to Marjory and Gordon, "We are from medical and nursing backgrounds but are by no means specialists in breast cancer or in breast cancer treatment. We can only tell you what we've gone through and what we've learned along the way. Gordon will mostly write the medical or information type articles - Marjory will mostly write the personal snippets of our story and our experiences." If you are newly-diagnosed with breast cancer or a long-term breast cancer survivor, this blog is worth a visit. While you are there, stay long enough to leave them an encouraging word. 

What a great idea! It's the middle of the night and you have a concern about your cancer diagnosis or cancer treatment nagging away at you. Where are you going to go to find the answer -- who are you going to ask? If you live in the United Kingdom, Ask the nurse is a confidential email question and answer service for women diagnosed and living with breast cancer. As long as you live in, or are receiving cancer treatment in the UK, you can use this free service provided by Breast Cancer Care. They even publish a free helpline number to call if you need an immediate answer, as the email answer to your question can take up to two days. Still, even with the two-day wait, this is a terrific service. When you are newly-diagnosed with breast cancer, or going through cancer treatment, there are so many questions that cross your mind. This service allows you to ask questions you might forget to ask, or are reluctant to ask, in person during a doctor visit or treatment session.