At the University of Florida, where my husband works, spouses can get campus I.D. cards which allow access to recreational centers, swimming pools, a university lake, and more. A few years ago, I stood in line for my card. It was during my chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, and I wore a blond wig topped with a ball cap. Once at the front of line, a college student employee told me to remove my hat so my photo could be taken.

I couldn't take my hat off -- it covered a partial wig made for use with hats, and the very top was made of soft cotton and no hair. I didn't want to be photographed wearing my clown-like wig. I didn't want to be photographed bald. I wanted to look as normal as possible during a time when I felt nothing of the sort.

I told the I.D. center staff of my situation and although these young people seemed a bit unsettled by my story, they complied. And I now have an I.D. that pictures me, my blond wig, and my pink hat. It looks nothing like me. My post-chemo hair came in dark and curly.

Breast cancer survivor and rocker Sheryl Crow says she conquered cancer in part due to the type of research funded by "FFANY Shoes on Sale." This Fashion Footwear Association of New York shoe sale features thousands of beautiful shoes sold at half the manufacturer's suggested retail price. All net proceeds are donated to the breast cancer cause.

If you love shoes and wish to help further the fight against breast cancer, tune in to QVC for a night of shopping on October 17 from 7:00 - 10:00 PM ET.

Over the past 10 years, "FFANY Shoes On Sale" has raised more than $16 million and sold over 950,000 pairs of shoes to benefit breast cancer research and education programs. Here's to another great year.

Ruth is a vivacious, energetic woman in her 70s who is active in the community. I've met her a few times and had the privilege to discuss her cancer story with her.

How did you discover that you had breast cancer? What types of treatment were recommended?
During a routine check-up, my doctor discovered a lump. He suggested a lumpectomy, but I spoke with a number of other physicians, including my brother, and they all recommended getting a full mastectomy to ensure that I wouldn't have a re-occurrence. After the surgery, the lump was examined and it was found to be highly unusual. Though it's not certain that the cancer would have come back, I don't regret getting a full mastectomy, and will recommend the same to my daughters if they develop breast cancer too. I know many women who only had a lumpectomy, and several of them have had a re-occurrence. Sadly, some of them are no longer with us.

My brother-in-law just read the post I wrote about his allegiance to the pink breast cancer bracelet -- the one that snapped after three solid years of wear, the one he replaced a day later.

I wrote my previous post in an attempt to give meaning to this perhaps symbolic happening. A breast cancer bracelet breaks -- what could that mean? I took a stab my own interpretation. My thoughts are featured in that post, On broken cancer bracelets. Now, Jack is weighing in with his own twist on the matter. I like his version.

Jack says his bracelet, worn ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2004, broke because I am free of cancer. The bracelet is no longer necessary. End of cancer. End of bracelet. End of story.

"Our life is a series of images," writes Biko Mabilog on her blog canvas and manuscript. "They pass us by like towns on the highway. Sometimes, a moment stuns us as it happens. And we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment will live on forever."

Biko's stunning moment came when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This moment may live on forever, but this courageous woman is handling it with such grace as she documents her journey for all to read. Plentiful with poignant words and powerful pictures, Biko's blog makes it clear she cherishes her life, her family, her every experience.

Finished with chemotherapy and in the throes of radiation, Biko writes, "I am enjoying the mundane things in life and savoring the moments I have with family and friends. Being able to choose my priorities, my commitments, my concerns makes me feel happier, healthier, more in charge of my life. It's good for my health, it is good for my soul."

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.

Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has been chosen as Avon's first-ever global ambassador. Serving as honorary chairman of the Avon Foundation, the 31-year-old will focus on issues of breast cancer, domestic violence, and emergency relief.

"I'm very excited about working with the Avon Foundation, with many different aspects of it," Witherspoon says. "First and foremost, breast cancer research and awareness, programs that they're working on. Someone very close to me is a breast-cancer survivor. It's a cause that's very close to my heart."

Witherspoon will also represent Avon Products Inc.'s beauty brands and sales representatives.

It was all about the bike for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards this past Wednesday. Decked out in spandex bike shorts, he pedaled with champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong on the Register's Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Riding at an easy pace of 10 to 12 mph from Hampton to Cedar Falls, Edwards chatted with riders about their pressing issues, including their concern for his wife Elizabeth who was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer this year.

About his bike trek, Edwards commented, "This is an accident waiting to happen."

Why did he take on the challenge? "Lance has become a friend," Edwards said. " Proud of what he's doing, particularly on the cancer issue. It's obviously very important to us personally. And I've heard about this race -- err, race -- this ride, ever since I'd been coming to Iowa so I wanted to see what it looked like."

We know her best as the spunky headband-wearing contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback and most recently as the vivacious co-host on the daytime talk show The View. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a fighter -- whether she's duking it out to win $1 million or defending herself in front of a television audience. Remember her on-screen political feud with Rosie O'Donnell just before O'Donnell's departure from The View?

Hasselbeck seems sweet and innocent. I'm sure she is, really. But she surely has the ability to stand her own ground. She owes this trait to her mom, she says.

"My senior year of high school, my mother was diagnosed with an advanced from of breast cancer," says Hasselbeck, now 30. "She was put on intensive chemotherapy and had to take time off from her job as an attorney. Suddenly, I was the grown-up: I took her to her first chemo appointment, and helped her shave her head. The experience taught me a lot about looking inside for strength."

I'm sad, worried, and frustrated because of what happened to me at the beach this past weekend. I got burned. Really burned.

I thought I did everything right. I applied sunscreen, even had my husband coat my back, shoulders, and hard-to-reach spots with the powerful lotion intended to block the sun's most damaging rays. I sat underneath an umbrella while watching my boys, their own pale bodies slathered in a baby sunblock potion, as they jumped, ran, and bounced in the waves. I reapplied my sunscreen after a short stint in the pool and a stroll on the sand left my skin feeling tender. Still, I sizzled. My back is red, the skin underneath my suit straps white as can be in contrast to the bright color it borders, My chest is red and sore and itchy with bumps.

I feel sick, like I've exponentially upped my risk for skin cancer. As a cancer survivor, I feel particularly vulnerable. I not only fear a return of breast cancer, you see. I fear other cancers too. My ultra white skin already puts me at risk for sun damage. My past forays into sunbathing don't help. What happened this weekend, I'm afraid, makes things worse.

Christine Sansone was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 at the age of twenty-five. She passed away a few days ago after battling bone metastasis for eight years. She recently had leg surgery and never recovered. I met Christine a few times at the Young Survival Conference held by LBBC and the YSC.

Christine was featured in The Beautiful Eight -- An educational video for women living with metastatic disease.

She was recently quoted in the March/April issue of MAMM magazine.

"Living longer and stronger - Women with metastatic breast cancer are bringing new hope and energy to their cause." -- Christine Sansone.

Christine's story..

Sometimes, illnesses are easy to define in length. When you have a cold, for instance, you're all better once your nose stops running. When you have a broken arm, it's better once the cast comes off. But when you have cancer, are you ever really 'cured'? Is there a point where you stop being a cancer patient and go back your normal life, claiming you're 'all better now'? Is it that simple?

Think about this: Some insurance companies don't consider someone cured until they've been cancer-free for 10 years. Ten years is a long time, and I doubt most survivors wait that long to celebrate their victory. This survivor, for instance, is celebrating five years of being cancer-free, and is looking forward to calling herself cured. But her insurance company won't call her cured for another five years, and a recent statistic has shown that more than half of breast cancer survivors have a recurrence more than five years after they were first diagnosed.

So is cancer a life-long weight you have to bear? Can you be definitively cured? Or is it not even worth worrying about, when there's a life to be lived and love to be shared?

I found David's website while researching about Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain tumor. I found his website to be very inspiring. My uncle died of GBM twenty years ago this coming holiday season. David is an 11 year survivor this year! You can visit David's website at www.davidmbailey.com.

How did you find out you had cancer?

I started getting these really bad headaches. One morning, I fell over and felt nauseous. My wife called 911 and I remember getting in the ambulance thinking it was silly. I had a small seizure in the ambulance and when we got to the ER, I had a major grand-mal seizure. They did a quick cat-scan and saw a large mass in my head so they put me on a helicopter and flew me to a bigger hospital where they operated the next morning to remove the baseball size tumor in my brain. The pathology came back with the bad news -- grade 4 glioblasoma multiform (GBM) Prognosis, 6 months to live.

What types of cancer treatments were recommended?

I originally saw a general oncologist who had one clinical trial to offer but it was a randomized study, meaning a computer would pick if I got the treatment. I thought that was stupid. Then he gave me the best advice possible -- he told me to see a NEURO oncologist -- someone who specialized in heads.

Jacqueline, a clever and crafty breast cancer survivor made this shirt -- pictured at right -- especially for the 2006 Susan G. Komen walk in Central Park. She didn't like the over-sized, over-advertised shirts passed out to the masses, so she designed her own. Notice the songbird stripe on the right side of the shirt? This seamstress renovated the piece to create visual balance for women who have lost a breast and wish to forgo mastectomy and prostheses.

Jacqueline, who has named her clothing line Rhea Belle, had a right-side mastectomy in January 2004. She knew she would leave her body as is, but her existing wardrobe didn't "fit" her new shape. When she realized she could either accept her changed architecture or camouflage it, she chose the former.

It's been one year since I began writing for The Cancer Blog. According to statistics generated by this site, I've written 27,381 words and 793 posts. If you've been reading for this entire time, you surely know a lot about me. Not only do my posts reflect current news and issues, but they feature all sorts of personal stuff too. When considered together, my work here reflects just about every piece of my cancer journey, my inner most thoughts, my morals and values, my take on the world. But for those of you who haven't been reading for long, for those who have forgotten how I fit into the cancer puzzle, for those who want a recap, here's a rundown on me: Jacki Donaldson.

I was born and raised in Ohio but have also lived in Nevada, Virginia, and Florida -- my current home. My life always went pretty much according to plan -- I lived happily with my parents and one sister, faithfully attended school, went to college, got married, had two baby boys and a series of good jobs, and had just begun commenting to my family members about how lucky our family was not to have been affected by cancer. It seems just as I spoke this aloud, cancer arrived.