Let's face it, there is no "secret" to losing weight. It's simple -- bank less calories than you spend and the weight will come off. You don't need to take pills or buy into the latest diet craze. Common sense is all you need.

I spoke with my oncologist the other day about my own weight loss -- I have lost nearly 14 pounds since the beginning of May, thanks to a no-sweets, low-sugar, low-fat, water-only diet with an emphasis on high fruit and veggie intake. Now this is no temporary diet. This is for life. My goal was never to lose a bunch of weight and then go back to eating junk -- I just wanted to shed a few cancer treatment-induced pounds while embracing a brand new healthy lifestyle.

My doctor was proud of my progress and shared his too -- he's lost eight pounds by cutting 500 calories from his diet each day. It sounds like a lot but this can be accomplished by cutting down on portions, giving up soda, and ditching high-calorie snacks. Observing the physical changes we both had made, he announced to the medical students in the room with us at the time that weight loss is not so hard -- well, maybe mentally hard, but not physically. He talked with his students about how to advise overweight patients -- surely a large percentage of people they see -- and reminded them of this formula: take in less than you spend. They nodded in agreement. And we moved on to other topics. There really was nothing more to say. Simple, I tell you. Give it a try.

Rise Above It (RAI) is a non-profit organization that helps young adults battling cancer. The strength in spirit of its founder, Colin O'Donoghue, guides RAI in its efforts. As a friend, teacher and coach, Colin deeply enriched the lives of others.

RAI continues this practice with the same enthusiasm and vigor he brought to every aspect of his life. Colin always believed that enjoying life and embracing a positive attitude were essential components of happiness. Using this principle as inspiration, RAI devises fun and positive events that raise money to accomplish its primary objective: to provide meaningful support to young cancer patients.

This is achieved by hosting fund-raising events designed to provide eligible recipients with additional resources. Using the proceeds from these events, RAI board members solicit cases to provide grants and personal consultation to individuals and families with immediate needs in their fight against cancer. Through financial assistance and personal attention, RAI strives to instill a positive attitude within its recipients, thus allowing them to live each day with faith and a fighting spirit.

Marcia, the creator of MyLifeLine, has a dream: To make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families. A cancer survivor herself, she understands what it means to be diagnosed, undergo treatments -- and still be present and available to the questions of concerned family members and friends.

At age 27, Marcia was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. To say it was unexpected is an understatement of vast proportions! At the time of the diagnosis, she was living in Chicago and working as a flight attendant for American Airlines. She went from flying the friendly skies to a complete hysterectomy, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. One clear memory is the spiritual support she received from family and friends. "For that I am eternally grateful," she says.

MyLifeLine.org is a nonprofit organization that encourages cancer patients and survivors to create free, customized websites. Their mission is to empower patients to build an online support community of family and friends to foster connection, inspiration, and healing.

Here's an opportunity for you to share your personal breast cancer experiences, and help further research too.

Molly, a college student at BYU, has launched a national research project aimed at examining the relationship between couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction of couples in which one spouse has breast cancer. Molly and her study partner Dr. Ramon Zabriskie hope to identify new avenues for cost effective intervention targeted at improving the quality of life for adult cancer patients and their spouses.

Both the cancer patient and spouse/partner will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. No identifying information is required, and all responses will be kept confidential.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School say the active component of marijuana may enhance the virus that causes a rare type of skin cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma. While most people are not at risk of developing this cancer, AIDS patients are transplant recipients are. It's the weakened immune system that puts some at risk for this disease. And these are the people who should discuss with their doctors the costs of using marijuana medicinally or recreationally.

It may take only small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the ingredient that gives marijuana users a "high" -- to cause cells to become infected and then multiply, according to a study reported in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research.

Previous studies have indicated this very same association between marijuana use and Kaposi's sarcoma. But this study shows THC itself is the driving force.

Venous Thromboembolism, also know as a blood clot, is something that cancer patients should be aware. There is now a medicine approved for recurrent blood clots by the Food and Drug Administration called Fragmin. Fragmin is a type of heparin, for long term prevention of blood clots.

Blood clots form when red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells and other blood components form a mass within the blood vessel that can block the flow of blood back to the heart.

Chemotherapy treatments and hormonal treatments can increase the risk of blood clots occurring. Talk to your doctor, especially if you have a personal or family history of blood clots. A blood thinner might be recommended.

Symptoms can include:

• swelling
• warmth
• pain or redness in your legs
• chest pain
• trouble breathing

If you have any of these symptoms call your physician right away.

The two little girls who recently fashioned their own cardboard lemonade stand and sold their homemade refreshments for 50 cents a cup are not your typical lemonade entrepreneurs. What makes them stand out from the usual crowd of lemonade peddlers? These girls -- Emily is four and Lily is six -- are both cancer patients, undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and raising money for cancer research.

The two met last year at the Omaha Children's Hospital cancer clinic. Their mothers became fast friends, worked together on a neighborhood garage sale, and invited the little girls to set up a lemonade stand. The idea came from the story of another little girl, diagnosed with cancer just before her first birthday, who at age four opened her own stand with the goal of raising $1 million for her hospital. Only days before she died did she realize she would reach her goal.

How did Emily and Lily do? The totals are not yet in -- but they did raise $70 right away on the first day of the sale. And they reportedly had a grand time running their business.

Cancer patients in Saudi Arabia are now entitled to a 50% discounts on domestic air and land travel in the kingdom, according to this, which is the same discount that seniors and people with disabilities are entitled to. I've never heard of this before ... is this common practice in North America? Regardless of whether it is or not, it got me thinking.

Some discounts on the exorbitant parking rates at the hospital when my dad was ill would have been appreciated. Joking aside, I sympathize with cancer patients and think they deserve any break they can get but on the other hand, cancer isn't by definition a disability--it's a disease and if we're offering discounts on a disease, why stop with cancer? What about people with HIV, Chrohn's or Diabetes?

What do you think?

Cigna Corp. is offering a free video game for teens called Re-Mission. The video game lets teens and young adults blast cancer while learning how to improve the odds of beating the disease.

The creator of the game is Hopelab, a non-profit organization seeking to improve the health of young people with a mix of good science and fun technology. Re-Mission is a teen-rated shooting game featuring a nanobot named Roxxi who roams inside the bodies of fictional cancer patients, destroying cancer cells, battling bacteria infections and managing side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatments.

Cancer patients will inevitably develop some sort of fatigue while going through chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The problem is that it is difficult for health care professionals to accurately assess its severity. There is a new method being studied to help nurses and physicians provide an instant measurement of a patient's fatigue.

The method is called ecological momentary assessment, also known as real-time assessment. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network defines fatigue as "an unusual, persistent, subjective sense of tiredness related to cancer or cancer treatment that interferes with usual functioning".

A study published in Cancer, a peer reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, found that cancer survivors are more likely to seek out support groups than individuals with other chronic conditions. They stated that one in four survivors participate in a support group after diagnosis.

According to the study, treating physicians seemed to recognize that support groups are helpful but only one in ten cancer patients studied had received a recommendation to seek out a support group. Support groups are widely available but seem to be poorly handled by the physicians.

Dr. Jason Owen, co-investigator in the study, says "This study sheds light on which individuals with cancer use (support) services. It will help clinicians recognize the importance of support groups for cancer patients. Assistance in identifying and accessing support groups should be a standard of care for all patients receiving curative, follow-up, or palliative care for cancer".

Sad news for the female cancer survivors out there with decreased libido. Topical testosterone creams do not seem to work. A decrease in libido is a common problem among female cancer survivors.

When is our Viagra going to come out?

Seriously though, its tough being in a position where chemotherapy wrecks havoc on our bodies and ruins our libido -- then we are told there is nothing we can do about it. I'm a breast cancer survivor with estrogen positive disease so it is not recommended that I use any supplemental estrogen.

Testosterone cream was tried out in a study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, that included 150 post-menopausal breast cancer survivors. Half received the testosterone cream and the other half a placebo. The study found that there was no statistical difference in libido between the testosterone cream and placebo groups.

However, all women in the study did show some increase in sexual desire. What that means is that just thinking it might work made some women more horny -- this is known as the placebo effect.

Cancer Lifeline believes cancer survivors - from diagnoses - their families, friends and coworkers, and caregivers are all people living with cancer. They believe that emotional, spiritual, and mental components of health are as important as the physical. Cancer Lifeline values listening to the needs of their clients and creating excellent services to meet those needs.

One of the things I loved about reading and seeing on their website is the beautiful healing gardens. If you live in the Seattle area this is a beautiful place to visit.

• The Earth/Sky Garden - is partly open to the sky and lovely views, and partly sheltered by an arbor.
• The Celebration Garden - is completely open to the sun and sky and populated with a wide variety of colorful plants.
• The Reflection Garden - is a place for contemplation and meditation. Quiet shadows mix with rich greens of shade-loving plants, while a small fountain bubbles across rocks and moss.

These gardens are just a small taste of what you can experience at Cancer Lifeline. Click here to find out all of what Cancer Lifeline has to offer.

All Cancer Lifeline services are free of charge.