I was trained months ago to serve as a Reach to Recovery volunteer for the American Cancer Society (ACS). My purpose: to meet face-to-face with women facing breast cancer, to offer them some measure of comfort, to help them manage their overwhelming emotions, to provide them with information and resources, to impart hope during a time of fear and uncertainty.

For months, I had not been called upon to meet with anyone in my community. I'd like to think this is a good thing -- a sign of decreasing breast cancer cases perhaps -- but I tend to believe it stems from a hesitancy to ask for help or a lack of knowledge about this support program. Regardless, I got my first call last week. And I made my first visit. And these are my first impressions of my first encounter as a Reach to Recovery volunteer.

The Reach to Recovery program operates on the premise of matching like-cancer survivors. I was matched with a young woman -- she is 31; I am 37, although my diagnosis came at age 34 -- and each of us was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. We both had surgery, both have young children, both feel a little sad that because of cancer, we likely won't have more children. We connected. We bonded. For a little more than one hour, we were in the same boat. Together, we tackled rough waters.

Seven ways to reduce stress:

1. Exercise for 30 minutes Every Day

Exercising 30 minutes a day is one of the best things you can do to help relax. It helps you to keep fit and a fit person is obviously a happy one. It also helps to pump the blood around your body and whilst you are doing exercises chemicals are being released from your brain to help the way you feel.

2. Listen to Relaxation Music

Listening to the right type of music is really important when you are trying to reduce stress and find your inner peace. Some music when listened to, whilst stressed, can in fact heighten your stress levels. One type of music, which research has shown to help reduce stress is Baroque music. This music is written so that there is only 60 beats per minute and funny enough that is what our heart rate should be. The baroque music has been found to increase the alpha waves in your left and right sides of your brain which help improve your learning ability, creativity and calmness.

Many corporate trainers are now turning to baroque music during memory training sessions to help their students improve their comprehension and their memory.

3. Meditate for 20 minutes In The Morning and Evening

Meditation is a great way to help relieve your stress. When done correctly it should release you from your mind and allow it to focus on peace. Meditation when you first start our can be a little tricky and it honestly does take some time to learn. There are many great articles on how to meditate, but you can easily start off by simply sitting in the corner, closing your eyes and listening to music like the Baroque music.

Some meditation masters will also encourage you to listen to natural sounds during meditation and even recommend the use of incense during the meditation process to help break the stress in your body.

Quitting smoking is very hard to do. If you succeed the short and long term rewards include improved lung capacity, circulation, greater sense of smell and taste, reduced risk of coronary artery disease, stroke and lung cancer.

BlueCross BlueShield of Central New York and the New York State Smokers Quitline offer seven steps smokers can take in their quest to quit.

Visualize success. Studies of successful quitters show that one of the most important ways to succeed is to believe that they can quit smoking.

Make a plan. Create a daily plan to follow that includes:

• Times when you want to smoke most and things you can do instead of smoking when you have a craving.
• Names of friends and family you can call for support.
• A reward for yourself when you have achieved your goal of being smoke free.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer will hold a free teleconference, Follow-up Testing: What You Need to Know, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Thursday, August 16.

Speaker Virginia F. Borges, MD, will discuss follow-up testing after initial treatment, including follow-up testing guidelines, insights into future tests, the uses or limitations of screening tests and the emotional impact of follow-up testing. She also will explain the need for routine follow-up for other treatment-related health matters, creating a plan to monitor overall health and the role of follow-up tests for women with advanced (metastatic) breast cancer.

Dr. Borges is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science Center. Dr. Borges specializes in the treatment of breast cancer and her research interests include the study of new biologic therapies for breast cancer, development of cancer vaccines and improving the quality of life of people affected by breast cancer. In addition to her clinical practice and research efforts, Dr. Borges volunteers as a medical facilitator for Casting for Recovery.

This free program will feature a presentation by the speaker and a 45-minute question-and-answer session with participants. Participants can listen over the phone or use their computer.

To register, visit Living Beyond Breast Cancer's website at www.lbbc.org or call (610) 645-4567

Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Cowie's dream almost ended when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. She was told earlier in the year that she would deploy to Iraq this summer.

The forty-two year old mother is ready for duty after her aggressive treatment plan. She had two surgeries and a five day targeted radiation treatment called MammoSite. Elizabeth will leave later this month with the 1113th Transportation Company of San Jose, California, for at least a year transporting supplies in Iraq.

Elizabeth's mother Pearl said she "isn't surprised that her daughter still wants to deploy. I knew this would not deter her. She was just determined to go. That is the kind of person she is."

Gilda's Club Delaware Valley and the YSC Community Volunteer Group (CVG) of Greater Philadelphia proudly present a lecture: "Talking to Kids About Cancer."

When: Tuesday, June 26th from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Where: Gilda's Club Delaware Valley, 200 Kirk Road, Warminster, PA 18974

Children may be quiet, children may be outspoken, but all children have questions. We want to give them the best answers we can. Learn how to talk to kids about cancer, how to address the easy questions and the tough ones. Light refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to Cathy at 215-441-3290 ext. 115. For more information and driving directions, visit the Gilda's Club Delaware Valley website.

Summer Running: A Race To Cure Breast Cancer is a documentary about two amazing women who are fighting breast cancer. The film sheds light on this common disease and those dedicated to finding a cure.

Donate just 20 dollars and you can get this highly acclaimed documentary. Net proceeds go to cancer researchers at Johns Hopkins University and The University of Virginia.

"... a highly inspirational and moving film about women runners and breast cancer survivors. It also emphasizes the importance of grass-roots funding, and offers a hopeful look at cancer research. Highest recommendation!"
- Theresa Wells, RN / Runner

Five weeks after doctors discovered that Tony Snow had a diagnoses of metastatic colon cancer -- he is back at work.

I just watched a briefing by Mr. Snow. He seems very optimistic about his treatment plan. He will receive chemotherapy and then maintenance chemotherapy to try and keep the cancer at bay.

Tony advises anyone with cancer to "not go it alone". He feels very supported by his colleges and family. He also stated that he feels very lucky and he has the gift of life and is going to make the most of it.

Mr. Snow was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 and has recently went through exploratory surgery to confirm his cancer recurrence. He did say that there are new chemotherapy drugs that were not available when he was first diagnosed, that he will be treated with at this time.

He seemed a bit choked up in the interview, but only because he is humbled by the love and support he has received.

Business is business. Maybe it's about making a difference in the world of consumers but mostly, it's about making money. I get that -- and if I owned my own company and offered some sort of product, surely my goal would be to reap a financial reward. And if I wanted to increase my reward, I guess I would consider new markets, new advertising, and new techniques for hauling in loads of cash.

So I see what's going on with the new Camel No. 9 cigarettes, in their hot-pink fuscia and minty-teal green packages with the slogan Light and Luscious. I understand this brand is targeting female smokers with enticing wording that Camel maker R.J. Reynolds executives say is meant to suggest dressed to the nines, putting on your best. I even get that it's a pretty savvy strategy. But somehow, it all seems so wrong.

In a world where more women die of lung cancer than breast cancer -- by a large margin -- how can anyone, even business people whose sights are set on profits, feel OK with the decision to encourage women to smoke?

Think about these passages that just recently published in a New York Times article:

Wall Street analysts praise the introduction of Camel No. 9, in regular and menthol flavors, as a further step by the R. J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American, toward a new marketing strategy. The goal is to refocus on the biggest, most popular -- and most profitable -- brands, which include Kool as well as Camel.

"What we're about is giving adult smokers a choice," says one executive, "with products we believe are more appealing than existing products." The introduction of Camel No. 9 is part of plans to "focus on products that are 'wow,' " she added, "that add fun and excitement to the category."

Fun and excitement? Believe me, there's nothing fun and exciting about cancer. Now if I could only package that truth and market it to the world. I suspect I'd be a rich woman -- and I don't mean financially.

Alese was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease when she was seventeen years old. This was back in November of 2001 and Alese has been fighting this disease on and off since that time.

After her initial treatment of the standard chemotherapy regimen for Hodgkin's, Alese had her first recurrence after only four months. Alese then received a stem cell transplant in December of 2002 and she was cancer free for two years. On November 18, 2004 it was found that Alese had another recurrence of Hodgkin's.

I have been reading Alese's journal on her blog called Alese Coco Fight 2 Win. She is a courageous young women. You can read her story here, it is very inspirational.

It has been a scary weekend since Alese's family were told that they might have to start making 'end of life' decisions. Alese was having many complications from her disease that it was threatening to take her life. Thankfully, it seems things are looking better this morning. Check out her journal and if you like leave an encouraging message!

I'm sharing seven bits of wisdom this Sunday that are not my own. I am borrowing them from Pat McRee who has collected all sorts of survivor stories, affirmations, quotations, poetry, lyrics, and resources, has wrapped them with a bunch of hope and humor, and has packaged them in a box she calls Support to Go, The Unbook for the Journey through Breast Cancer.

McRee's colorful, lively box contains 80 cards. And on each card is some type of tip, idea, recipe, myth, truth, and essay that makes the breast cancer road easier to travel.

Live it. Learn it. Pass it on. That's what McRee says -- and exactly what she did when she stacked her deck of cards with such meaningful and magical material.

There is no way I could easily choose seven cards from my own box of support -- there's just too much good stuff, and it all deserves equal attention. So I drew seven random cards from the pile that sits before me, and this is what I got.

Queasy Made Easy
This card lists menu items targeted for the chemo tummy. A registered oncology nurse for 20 years, Betty Dozier shares what she has learned about what to eat -- clear, cool drinks, fruit juice, plain baked potatoes, Cold canned or fresh fruit, saltines, rice, toast, clear broths, sherbet, Popsicles -- and what not to eat -- gravy, sauces, potato chips, sour cream, heavy creamed soups.

Safety in Numbers
McRee doesn't put much stock in statistics and numbers generated by calculators that have nothing to do with real people. But she does believe in numbers when it comes to survival. On this card, she lists the names of genuine survivors with real numbers. She lists Shirley Weinman, a 20-year-survivor, Janice Johnston, an eight-year survivor, Linda Beebe, a 15-year survivor -- and so on.

No Smile Left Behind
McRee offers a prescription for play, an invitation to smile and laugh and rejoice in the face of cancer. "Cut eye holes in a paper bag and wear it to treatment," she says. "Tell 'em you just couldn't face another day." Another idea -- "Pass the word that everyone who enters the waiting room will get a Standing Ovation. They all deserve 'em just for showing up."

Fuzzy Logic
Check out this oh-so-true poem:

Too gray, too wavy, too doggone thick,
Smack in the front ... a big 'ol cowlick!
Split-ends and frizzies whenever it rained,
Now it's hard to believe I ever complained;
So, Lord, let's grow something! I'll nevermore whine ...
Gray, thick and wavy will suit me just fine.

Postcards
McRee provides a few postcards intended for mailing to surviving friends. One says, I hear you're patched, retreaded and approved for the road. Another says, U are not alone.

Hair Tomorrow
McRee offers a souvenir keeper for a lock of pre-chemo hair. Why not save it, says McRee, who shares that what grows back might be as different as your new life will be.

Buttoned-Up
Make your own buttons -- and wear them proudly. This card gives button wording ideas -- like Symmetry is so yesterday, Cancer: Been There, Beat That, and Stamp Out False Hopelessness.

Seven down -- 73 to go. I can't wait to read more.

I'm just waiting for the call -- the call that prompts my first visit with any number of newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients who want someone to lend an ear, a shoulder, and a few good tips for steering through a scary journey.

I am a new American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery volunteer, trained this past Saturday and ready to help others who are slipping into the shoes I started wearing two years ago. I was first a recipient of this program -- designed to match new breast cancer patients with veteran survivors through face-to-face visits -- and I know well the comfort that comes from the support of someone not so overwhelmed by cancer. So now it's my turn to offer the comfort. And I am oh so ready.

I am armed with literature, communication techniques, gift bags for my patients, and my own official volunteer pin. And while I am a bit anxious about how my first meeting will go, I learned on Saturday that my mere presence will be enough to calm the women whose lives I am about to touch.

There is no better vision for someone just diagnosed with breast cancer than a healthy, happy woman who happens to be surviving the same disease. And so it is hope that I will spread and my unspoken portrayal of life after cancer that will inspire these women. My words will be icing on the cake. It's me these women want to see. And it's these women I want to see as I begin to reach to recovery -- a recovery I suspect will largely be my own.

My nose was buried in books just after my breast cancer diagnosis. I craved information and thought the pursuit and acquisition of it would somehow help me gain control over a seemingly uncontrollable disease.

For the most part, reading helps me. But sometimes, I read too much -- "Stop reading", my oncologist instructed me one day after I rambled off a bunch of worries I'd gathered from research -- and I've been known to get overwhelmed by statistics and numbers and theories and clinical jargon. When this happens, I usually find refuge in the personal stories of women living with breast cancer. Those who have weathered the cancer storm are often the real experts on cancer and know how to sift through the details, offering just what's important to all who follow.

For more than a decade, two-time breast cancer survivor Pat McRee searched for the perfect guide she could recommend for women she saw at the Flying Colors cancer resource and support center she directs.

"Too long," "Too detailed," "Overwhelming," "Just plain scary," were the responses she heard about the books she had found.

So she decided to think outside the book, to create her own support guide. An unbook is what she calls it. And it's not too long, too detailed, too overwhelming, or too scary.

Support to Go, The Unbook for the Journey through Breast Cancer is instead a compilation of survivor secrets, affirmations, inspiring quotations, poetry, song lyrics, attitude buttons, funny anecdotes, and referrals to expert resources in oncology, radiology, surgery, psychology, and complementary therapies.

McRee considers her book a support group of sorts, a place where survivors can turn their wild rides into unforgettable journeys.

Angelina Jolie, who told CNN host Larry King on December 18 that her 56-year-old mother was battling ovarian cancer, is now confirming that her mother passed away on Saturday afternoon.

According to a new release, Angelina Jolie and brother James Haven were with their mom, actress Marcheline Bertrand, when she died this weekend at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. It is reported that Jolie's boyfriend, Brad Pitt, was at the hospital with Jolie and her brother.

Bertrand, divorced from Jolie's Oscar-winning actor father Jon Voight and primary caretaker of her children, had small roles in the movies Lookin' to Get Out in 1982 and The Man Who Loved Women in 1983.

A private funeral is planned -- and the family asks that donations be made to the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

A poodle named Lucy refuses to leave her owners side and has become very popular with the nurses and visitors. The patient Maggie Bellamy is staying at the hospice while she is undergoing cancer treatments.

Lucy likes to snuggle up on the rug near Maggie's bed and goes for short walks around the grounds. Ms. Bellamy said "I thought it was incredible when I was told that Lucy could come and stay with me in the hospice. She frets over me, but is very well behaved and everyone fell in love with her. She is good therapy for other patients too."

Lucy is the only dog you will see at this hospice. Dogs belonging to Pets as Therapy also pop in with their owners to visit patients.

Fraser Meek, manager of the hospice in-patient unit, said "We are happy to welcome a patient's pet to be bought along either for a visit, or to stay in the room where possible. Visits from gentle pets help the patients relax and add to the homely atmosphere of the hospice".

What a nice story!