It is the truest spirit of giving in a story told the day after the most celebrated day of giving in a season of giving, where lives intersect in unexpected ways that remind us of the best in who we are as human beings.

A brother and sister, 15-year-old Stephanie and 18-year-old Kevin Hudon, are both facing cancer. Stephanie's bone cancer has spread to her lungs and her brother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A teacher at the high school both Stephanie and Kevin attend, Christine Monahan, had been spearheading a fundraiser to financially help the family through this overwhelming time. Last month, Nathan Burditt, a student who attends the same high school, spent 34 hours in line to buy the coveted and hard-to-come-by PlayStation 3. Monahan said she was kidding when she suggested to Burditt that he donate the newly-acquired gaming system to a raffle to help the Hudon family.

But Burditt took her seriously and donated the popular PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3, one of the it gaming systems this year, attracted $21,000 dollars in raffle ticket sales. Before the PlayStation 3, Monahan had expected to raise $500 dollars during the raffle. Ticket buyers to the raffle, knowing of Burditt's unselfish act of compassionate charity, wrote his name, not their own, on the raffle tickets they bought. Because of this, Burditt won back the PlayStation 3 he had donated.

The simple acts of kindness for a brother and sister struggling to survive cancer made national news. Enter comedic actor Adam Sandler. Upon hearing about Stephanie and Kevin, Sandler sent a PlayStation 3 loaded with games, signed DVDs, jerseys and an autographed Longest Yard poster to them to help make their Christmas a little more joyful.

Meanwhile, Burditt, who has won the PlayStation 3 in the raffle he donated it to, wanted to turn around and sell it to make even more money for the Hudon family. Everyone is telling the young man he has done so much more than anyone ever expected from any one person that he should keep it now. The raffle ticket buyers wanted him to own it after he so willingly gave it up to help someone he did not even know. It is reported that Monahan is keeping the gaming system boxed at her house until Burditt makes a decision on whether he will accept it for himself, or to what purpose he intends on using it to help again.

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, I believe each of us holds the secret wish that we could make the cancer go away. But we know we cannot, and yet we want to do everything we can do for them. Easing the journey, with a donation of time or money is one way, as is filling the life of a cancer patient with as much joy and laughter as possible, and if it distracts them from the current reality, all the better. Burditt, Monahan and Sandler did just that for Stephanie and Kevin Hudon of Manchester.

On the Phil Lesh and Friends website, musician and founding member of Grateful Dead Lesh begins, "What do I have in common with Rudy Giuliani, John Kerry, Bob Dole, Joe Torre, Nelson Mandela, Sean Connery, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Emperor Akihito of Japan, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, Quincy Jones, Roger Moore, Sydney Poitier, and Robert De Niro?" Prostate cancer.

Lesh, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, will be undergoing the da Vinci robotic surgical procedure in December to remove the tumor. As a result of his prostate cancer diagnosis, he is urging all men to have a periodic PSA screening for early detection of prostate cancer.

In 1998, Lesh underwent a liver transplant as a result of chronic Hepatitis C infection. He has become an active advocate for organ donor programs and raising awareness for Hepatitis C. Lesh is expecting a full recovery from prostate cancer because it was caught in its early stage. Here are a few fast facts about prostate cancer:

• Age is the most common risk factor for prostate cancer.
• Prostate cancer often does not cause symptoms for many years.
  
• Two simple tests are performed as part of a prostate cancer screening --a digital rectal exam and a blood test (PSA) to screen for prostate specific antigen.
  

To learn more about prostate cancer, visit Prostate Cancer.

The power of positivity is subjective when it comes to cancer survival. There are those who argue that keeping up a positive attitude puts too much pressure on cancer patients. I think it depends on who you are at the time of cancer diagnosis, and what your individual personality style is in facing adversity, that is far more relevant to being a survivor.

Last Wednesday, when the news broke that Farrah Fawcett had been diagnosed with cancer, she asked that her privacy be respected. As is the case with most celebrities, it was not likely to happen. We have seen almost constant coverage in the details of her cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the paparazzi have captured in photographs her every movement.

Before the sun sets on this day, you are going to hear that Farrah Fawcett has been treated for colorectal cancer. Currently being reported in London newspapers -- here, here, and here -- the National Enquirer is running an exclusive story that Fawcett, famous poster sex symbol from the days of Charlie's Angels fame in the 70s, has already undergone radiation and surgery for a tumor found by doctors after her appearance at the Emmy Awards with Charlie's Angels co-stars Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson.

It might be true, and if so, we hope only the best for Farrah Fawcett. But we should hold out for something more substantial than the news being reported now, because we all remember the Whitney Houston brain tumor news, and Steven Tyler's throat cancer news. Which is why I am mentioning it here -- for a little cautionary perspective.

Update 4:30 (PST): Unfortunately, it appears this might be more than a rumor. Entertainment Tonight has published this report:

"ET confirms that Farrah Fawcett is battling cancer. Just minutes ago, the Charlie's Angels star released a statement to ET, saying, "Please respect my privacy at this challenging time."

The 59-year-old actress was last seen on the big screen in 2004 in The Cookout and has guest-starred on numerous TV shows in the past decade, including Ally McBeal, The Guardian, and Spin City."

Related post: Farrah Fawcett: Positivity is a necessity in cancer fight.

I was in my oncologist office yesterday and noticed a new poster hanging on the wall advertising an on-line system for managing health care -- for scheduling appointments, confirming appointments, locating test results, paying bills, and more. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, RelayHealth is the premier provider of secure on-line healthcare communication services that link patients, healthcare professionals, payors, and pharmacies in matters that are medically non-urgent. The website also features news and customer stories and aims to improve the delivery and accessibility of healthcare to patients -- in a seamless manner.

I haven't done much with this service yet -- but I did take a short tour and made a simple search for my physician whose information promptly popped up on my screen. That part was easy. And once I register with a username and password, I will have more access to more information pertaining to me and my healthcare team. And you can too.

Pat Bohman is a grateful mother. Her daughter Kelsey, who was treated at Children's Hospital in Denver for leukemia, has made it through the battle. During the Christmas season of 2002, Pat thought about the children still in the hospital fighting cancer and she wanted to make them gifts. She came up with idea for the Marshmallow Launcher -- a kind of blow gun that shoots marshmallows. The children make a poster target by drawing pictures of cancer cells, the poster gets put on the wall and then the kids shoot marshmallows through a pipe-like device at the target. Marshmallow Launchers are a big hit with the kids at the hospital.

According to Bohman, the marshmallow launchers were created for the kids in isolation on the oncology unit at The Children's Hospital as a means to relieve tension, while away the long hours in isolation, and have some fun in the midst of very difficult circumstances.

But it turned out that the Marshmallow Launcher serves a medical purpose. As a respiratory device, it helps a child strengthen lung capacity. Much more fun than pinwheels and bubbles. Bohman is even thinking about adding a flow meter to the launcher as a way to measure lung capacity progress. But for the kids, it's just pure fun.

In addition, when Bohman finds out another family in her area has a child who has been diagnosed with cancer, she sets up a booth to sell the launchers. The young and young-at-heart are drawn to the fun of the Marshmallow Launcher. It has been suggested that some adults use them for interoffice communications. If you would like a Marshmallow Launcher of your own, you can visit Kelsey's Kids website where you can purchase one. Bohman makes them in the basement of her home. The profits are donated to the hospital that helped her daughter fight against cancer and win.

I was hospitalized twice last year for chemo-induced fever and low blood counts. My first stay came at a busy time -- the hospital's oncology floor was full and there was no space for me. So I was admitted to the bone marrow transplant unit as an overflow patient and suddenly -- even in my very sick and compromised state -- I became the healthiest person on the floor. My white blood count was 700 -- sounded pretty bad to me -- but some of the patients staying on this floor with me had no blood counts because in order to receive a transplant, their own bone marrow is completely depleted in order to prepare for new bone marrow. Patients on this floor are considered pretty healthy when their counts reach 500. I was considered sick and was hospitalized at 700. Adults and children on this floor stay in rooms behind glass panels and with special -- and loud -- air flow systems that push germs out of the room. Visitors must wear gowns and shoe covers and must wash their hands before entering the rooms. Patients might stay on this floor for months at a time, receiving chemotherapy and preparing for their eventual bone marrow transplants. Some patient rooms are decorated and arranged just like home. Parents prepare rooms for children with play areas and craft areas and television areas. This floor is home to many sick children -- and this is what affected me most. For my five days on the bone marrow transplant unit, I gained an up-close and personal look at what many parents and children encounter when cancer derails their lives. It was so much more than I had to encounter. It must be quite an undertaking to prepare a child for this experience.

I picked up a coloring book the day I was discharged and walked off this floor and back into my own life. It's a coloring book that comes from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and is made by bone marrow transplant patients for children preparing for their own transplants. There is a poster for children to color and hang on their hospital room walls that says I Will Get Well, there is a page that terms chemo and radiation as Laser Rays and Guard Dogs and pages that help children visualize happy moments -- like playing a favorite sport or activity and jumping rope in the warm sunshine. This book reminds children that it is okay to cry and it even includes a prescription: Make sure you get at least one hug every day!

The overall message of this coloring book, which is stated in writing is, "A good attitude does not mean being cheerful all the time; it just means that you know that this is necessary to help fight your cancer."  Well said. And something I will always remember.

A new painting of Tom Cruise will be sold as a limited edition print and poster to benefit Gilda's Club, an organization that provides free emotional, social and community support for people living with cancer. Gilda's Club online offers cancer resources and information on how to connect with others, as well as a Spanish-speaking version of the website for the Latino community.

Artist McKenzie, commissioned to create an original painting of Cruise for her celebrity series, calls the new work Intrepidity.

The release of the limited edition print and poster coincides with the premiere opening of Cruise's latest movie this week -- Mission Impossible 3. A portion of the profits from each of McKenzie's newest paintings have been donated to a specific charity. She said she chose Tom Cruise as the subject of her painting to benefit cancer charity because of his strength and temerity in the face of adversity. "It seems so fitting that part of the profits from the painting will go to a cancer charity where strength and fortitude seem often to be the difference between life and death." You can view more of McKenzie's art, and purchase her work, at McKenzie.