Geralyn Lucas, author of the memoir Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy can see the pages of her book come to life on the television screen this October -- during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- when Lifetime TV airs her story and spreads her word for all to see. Headlining in this Lifetime Original Movie are Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) and Jay Harrington (Desperate Housewives) whose performances will capture Lucas' struggle after a breast cancer diagnosis at age 27 and with a mastectomy, six months of chemotherapy, and a job she maintained throughout it all. Her job -- as an assistant story editor for the TV news program 20/20 -- kept her sane. While her physical world was falling apart, her mind was still working. And that -- along with a promotion during the same time -- kept her focused.

After her 1995 diagnosis, Lucas found herself working as Lifetime's own programming director. She also found herself as mom of post-cancer daughter Skye, and then found herself in the midst of writing a book. It wasn't her goal to write a book really -- but she took a writing class which prompted her to jot down her personal breast cancer story. And the rest is history -- and coming soon to a television screen near you. So stay tuned for October's programming schedule -- and find out why exactly Lucas wore lipstick to her mastectomy.

Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? It's an age-old chicken and the egg question of which came first and which then followed. When it comes to primetime television, with images beamed into the living rooms and bedrooms of nearly every household in this country  -- it might be more the subject of distortion for the sake of sensationalism than imitation.

Today, the Academy of Television Arts&Science announced this year's 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominees for drama series that include two weekly medical shows, House and Grey's Anatomy. Scrubs is nominated in the comedy series category.

Which got me to thinking about the impact, if there is one, on the viewer's idea about the medical community.

While there might be a drug-addicted doctor out there with such a genius IQ that he is supported by a medical team that makes allowances for the anti-social behavior his addiction creates, I am certain in real life the medical community does a better job of self-policing itself than they do in regard to House.

When it comes to watching the social drama of sex, introspective angst and egos run rampant on Grey's Anatomy, I suppose when you put any group of people together it's only a matter of time before some of them become entrenched in a mobius strip of narcissism, but still I don't believe this is a realistic representation in the life of an intern.  

At least Scrubs is just silly and does not attempt to seriously portray itself as anything other than a light-hearted spoof. But when it comes to shows written with an intent for dramatic real life settings, I wonder if the images we are exposed to on a regular basis can have an influence on perception and can alter attitude -- especially if you are not critically analyzing what you are watching -- and for the sake of entertainment, who does that?  Do you think these medical shows, on a subconscious level, affect the viewer's perception of the medical community?