We have heard it all. Performance enhancing drugs. The cancer drug treatment effect. Now it's having only one testicle that separates the winners from the losers. All possible reasons why Lance Armstrong became the seven-time Tour de France champion he became, according to the skeptics who keep throwing spurious suggestions to the media that the wins could not have been legitimately won.

I say, give Armstrong his due, as he is quite simply, the seven-time Tour de France champion, for no other reason that he is a supreme athlete who single-mindedly focused on his sport and ultimately gave what it took to win.

In Lance Armstrong: can cancer be performance-enhancing?, Robin Parisotto cites a recently published article that suggests Armstrong's ability to accomplish what most mere mortals only dream of, is due to the fact the man raced with only one testicle -- that the surgical removal of a testicle is performance-enhancing enough to make you an athletic champion. Parisotto goes into the long version of why the authors believe one testicle could give an athlete an advantage -- red blood cells, hormone ratios, and testosterone levels.

Parisotto ends with, "You can just see it now; some sick-minded male athletes now thinking that with only one testicle they can up their performance. Sorry, but I believe that two balls are still better than one."

Armstrong will be the first to tell you that cancer changed his life, by making him stronger in attitude and mental focus. This might be what those who are not familiar with the inner landscape of cancer are missing. It is a huge point to make, as surviving cancer often strengthens the resolve, focus and determination of many cancer patients in priorities of life important to them. It becomes you against cancer, a formidable obstacle to overcome, and it is all about winning. If anything enhanced an already outstanding natural talent, perhaps this is what gave Armstrong the added advantage that earns him the place of elite champion in his sport.

That cancer did change him by making him stronger in mind and spirit, and that he has gone on to create the LiveStrong Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer survivors on the same extraordinary level of success as winning the Tour de France might be compared to, seems far more likely the logical explanation for why he has been able to accomplish both athletic and altruistic feats of excellence.

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.

Two years ago, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shortly after he began radiation and hormone treatment for his cancer, I got an interesting call from him. He was suddenly experiencing symptoms normally associated with menopause -- in particular -- he was having hot flashes. He knew I had been suffering through hot flashes as a result of chemo-induced menopause. It's an interesting, if not unusual, father-daughter bonding when they both can share the trials and tribulations of menopause. Our telephone calls became conversations of possible solutions and relief during the sleeping and waking hours of a personal summer not in sync with the seasonal temperature outside. In the middle of winter, I joked my hot flashes were saving me money on my home heating bill.

Yesterday, Vicki posted tropical vacations and hot flashes, in which she shared a few natural herbal remedies for women suffering from hot flashes associated with menopause. For many women breast cancer survivors, chemo-induced menopause is a real problem. Today, I will share some of the natural remedies for men suffering from hot flashes associated with prostate cancer treatment and male menopause. Yes, it's a real condition. Jed Diamond, author of Male Menopause, offers these herbals as possible relief from male menopausal hot flashes:

• Wild Yam for hormone building assistance.
• Black cohosh for a relaxant and normalizer.
• Damiana as a prostate tonic, antidepressant and nutrient for sluggish sexual organs.
• St. John's Wort and Oat for nerve tonics to help deal with any depression and other stress due to the changes.
• Saw Palmetto for a reproductive system nutrient.
  

Of course, if you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you need to speak with your oncologist and primary care physician concerning the safety of combining herbs with any drug treatment you are currently prescribed. In addition, the Mayo Clinic did research that suggested antidepressants can alleviate the severity of hot flashes for men. My father has reported some relief from both herbs and antidepressants, but he still has a personal summer now and then.

When Kathleen was diagnosed with breast cancer, her sister Priscilla wanted to help in all the ways a loving sister could think to do -- and she came up with the idea to launch Bouncing for Breast Cancer -- better known as Bouncing for Boobs -- as a way to help support her sister Kathleen with her household bills while she undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

In an effort to raise $10,000 dollars, Priscilla pledged to bounce one million times in 100 days on a trampoline. According to Priscilla, what started as a personal campaign to help one sister is gaining momentum, and the plans are now to take bouncing for boobs to a worldwide level of campaigning in support of other women and single mothers who are struggling with breast cancer.

Priscilla blogs Bouncing for Boobs and maintains the Bouncing for Breast Cancer website. In addition, she is an innovative Image and Performance Mastery coach. All of which is reflected in her blogging. I highly-recommend this blog for all women struggling with and living to survive breast cancer. There are some thoughtful posts related to honoring the self and the healing journey. And it's fun to read as Priscilla bounces her boobs at different locations around the world.