While visiting Tucson's Canyon Ranch health and wellness resort, I spent a few hours with a fitness instructor who evaluated my body composition, flexibility, muscle strength, and cardiovascular performance. After offering me a grade in each of these areas -- my muscle strength was average, for example; my cardiovascular performance very good -- he gave me all sorts of tips and techniques for reaching a high level of fitness. He armed me with a variety of options, and I now have a solid collection of exercises in my bag of tricks. One thing I don't have in my bag, however, is a need for a lot of fancy equipment or gear.

This fitness instructor told me he once knew a college football player who had the most gorgeous body he'd ever seen. He'd picked up not one weight in his pursuit of such beauty. He merely used his own body.

We are everything we need to get fit. Our bodies are tools. We can use them to do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, lunges, wall sits, planks. We can walk, run, sprint, jump, balance, and more. We need nothing more than our own body weight, really, to achieve greatness. So before you go out and spend a fortune on weights and bands and balls and other contraptions, try using what you've got -- yourself.

Thanks Canyon Ranch for the inspiring fitness wisdom.

I used a written journal and then a blog to record the stops along my cancer journey. I kept a file for financial paperwork, and I made lists of questions in anticipation of medical appointments. I saved all prescription instructions to track the abundance of drugs entering my body, and I earmarked a large white cardboard box as my cancer treasure chest. The contents of this box include cards, gifts, newspaper clippings, books, literature, and more. It's practically spilling over with stuff -- the stuff of cancer.

My system -- which may seem a bit unorganized and splintered -- worked well for me as I tried to keep my head above water following my cancer diagnosis. For others, a more central system may work -- a system that incorporates all pertinent information in one convenient location.

The LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Notebook, offered by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, is one option for those seeking a clean, concise way to manage the details of cancer. It's designed to organize and guide. It's portable. It's available for the cost of shipping and handling only. And it includes the following:

Survivorship Tools -- this section includes a personal health journal, an appointment diary, a list for medications, a summary section for health and financial information, and a medical history and treatment area.

Survivorship Stories -- this section features stories of cancer survivors that will inspire and empower.

Survivorship Topics -- this section offers readings, answers to questions, and resources about physical, emotional, and practical issues related to cancer.

This yellow notebook -- a symbol of one man's fight and victory against a mighty disease -- could be the perfect accessory for someone facing the unknown. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of organization to calm nerves, minimize anxieties, soothe fears, and instill a sense of control over an otherwise uncontrollable journey.

I never predicted counseling would be part of my treatment for cancer. I am well-acquainted with the practice of talk therapy -- I have a graduate degree in counselor education and spent seven years counseling college students with presenting issues such as roommate conflicts, alcohol use and abuse, sexual assault, and depression -- but I never envisioned myself on the receiving end of such a relationship, never imagined I would be the one prescribed an anti-depressant and referred for cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Yet I have spent the past two years talking candidly -- and at times weeping uncontrollably -- with a talented young woman who has given me the tools to cope with life in the aftermath of a cancer diagnosis. And on Tuesday, the culmination of these two years will result in one final session. Together, my counselor and I will recount what has happened to me, how I have handled it, how I will proceed for the rest of my life.

At the end of my one-hour session on Tuesday, I will be set free. I will walk the white, sterile halls of a hospital basement, travel in an elevator up one flight, and exit a building I never knew could become so familiar. I will allow the outdoors to greet me, and for the very first time since cancer invaded my life, I will accept the challenge of living forward -- without the therapy that helped save my life.

On Tuesday, my case will be closed. On Tuesday, a new version of my life begins.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life -- recently began offering a new resource for breast cancer survivors, for both the newly diagnosed and those with metastatic disease.

"The first few weeks after diagnosis can be extremely difficult emotionally, and women with advanced disease often do not get the support and resources they need," said Jean Sachs, LBBC executive director. "We want to give them an understanding of their choices to help them make informed decisions regarding their physical and emotional health."

This understanding comes in the form of a 28-page brochure -- What to expect . . . today, tomorrow and beyond: Steps for coping with the medical, emotional and practical concerns of breast cancer -- available free on the Internet or by request. This guide, a road map, addresses topics such as coping with the news of a new diagnosis, telling family and friends, understanding pathology reports, choosing a medical team, asking for help, and finding support.

LBBC offers multiple addidtional resources -- including specialized navigation tools on its website that lead to a wealth of information. Visitors can Learn More about LBBC. They can Stay Informed through news, message boards, and other resources. They can Participate in events and programs. And they can Support LBBC through volunteer efforts and financial donations.

LBBC was founded in 1991 by a radiation oncologist who focused exclusively on meeting the needs of women post-treatment. She ran the organization out of the third floor of her home using volunteers. Few resources existed for women affected by breast cancer at the time, and so she tried to fill the void. In 1986, an executive director came on board, increased the LBBC budget from $100,000 to $1.8 million per year, expanded all programs and services, and worked to secure LBBC as a solid, dependable resource for all women, of all stages of breast cancer and in all phases of treatment and recovery. And now, in 2006, that is exactly what it is.

In the United States, mammograms are not recommended for women under the age of 40. Other then an annual check-up and a monthly self breast exam, young women with no family history of breast cancer have no medical tools available for preventing and detecting the disease. But no woman is immune to this disease -- and being female is the single most important risk factor for diagnosis. And young women do get breast cancer. I did. And so did Sharon Rutherford, a 36-year-old Ulster woman who was diagnosed in December.

Rutherford is urging health officials to lower the age for screening in Northern Ireland -- where routine breast screening programs are reserved for women between the ages of 50 and 64. Rutherford says this is inadequate as there is an "absolutely chronic" number of younger women suffering from breast cancer.

Although there is a reduced-age screening program that monitors women beginning at age 40, Rutherford would like to see the screening age reduced to 30. Until then, she is educating women about how they can be vigilant about their own care. She urges women to report to doctors anything that just doesn't feel right. And because doctors may excuse symptoms because women are "too young" for breast cancer -- that's what doctors told her -- women must aggressively pursue medical care. Rutherford kept pursuing the thickening she felt in her breast -- and eventually she was referred for screening.

Rutherford has had a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. And she is now active in the Ulster Cancer Foundation's new support group -- specifically for women under the age of 40.

When a question or concern or worry related to breast cancer pops into my head, I typically find myself parked in front of my computer in search of instant answers, instant comfort, instant wisdom. There are several different websites I consult -- each one different from the others, each one complementing the others. They are my reference tools, my handbooks, my encyclopedias. They offer me a clear picture of a confusing, cloudy disease. And here they are -- seven super websites that have been become staples in my life.

The Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada has launched an interactive web resource to assist men in facing prostate cancer and in finding answers regarding prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

Called Prostate Cancer Assessment Tools (PCATs), each of the 12 PCATs provides individualized information that will help each man better understand prostate cancer.

A sampling of the PCATs are as follows:

• Based on age, PSA, percentage of free PSA, and DRE findings what is the likelihood that I have cancer, if a biopsy is performed?
• Based on the characteristics of my cancer, what is the likelihood that the Gleason sum found on biopsy is higher than the Gleason sum on final pathology, when the prostate is removed?
• Based on the characteristics of my cancer, what is the likelihood that the cancer has spread beyond the capsule of the prostate?
• Based on my PSA, cancer stage at DRE, biopsy Gleason sum, the cumulative length (mm) of cancer on all biopsy cores and on the percentage of positive cores, what is the likelihood that my cancer is clinically significant (i.e., one that may kill)?
• Based on my cancer characteristics what is the likelihood that my cancer represents a (TZ) transition zone cancer?
• Based on the characteristics of my cancer, what is the likelihood that my PSA will increase and indicate a relapse of my prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy?
  

To learn more, and to make use of this interactive tool, visit the Prostate Owners Manual.

Caregivers are affected by cancer in their own unique and special ways. And those of us who have never been cancer caregivers and those of us who are patients receiving the care will never really know how it feels to walk in caregiver shoes -- until we do it ourselves.

Dr. Mitchell Luftig has done it himself. And after traveling a dark and unwanted journey of caring for his wife with breast cancer, he realized that he had learned a thing or two -- and he learned that he could share a thing or two. So he wrote a book, Be a Hero To The Woman You Love When She Gets Sick, and he speaks openly about his role as caregiver -- and his role at the time as father of twin high school daughters and husband of 20 years and clinical psychologist too. The whole ordeal turned his world upside down and he hopes that his story helps others -- primarily men -- who find themselves in a lonely place with the daunting job of caring for the people they love. As a psychologist, Luftig has good insight. And he wishes to help minimize the psychological barriers that prevent men from effectively caring for loved ones during times of serious illness.

Luftig shares in his book his realization that while he cannot repair and fix all hard times, he does have some important tools. And his power tools are love, support, and understanding. He has learned to sew joy out of rough cloth. He understands that he cannot shelter his family members from bad times, but he can shoulder their burden. And he now appreciates that all things are not so bad when measured against the yardstick of a life-threatening disease like cancer. Luftig's whole collection of wisdom and lessons and advice fill his book -- and bits and pieces also appear in periodic articles in Coping magazine. It's worth the read -- and the journey starts here.

I remember reading that Barbara Delinsky, novelist and breast cancer survivor, never shared her diagnosis of cancer until well after her fight was over. She feared the news would somehow halt her career in the publishing world. She wanted to remain untainted by disease in the eyes of her readers and bosses so she saved her secret. The secret is out now -- and is also part of a book she wrote called Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivorship. She is in the clear now -- but she once feared the consequences of managing both cancer and her career.

The experts who offer a website resource at cancerandcareers.org believe that it is possible to combine cancer and career without fear or worry or secrecy. The advice provided on this site offers wisdom for working women and for employers and for co-workers. There is also a forum for shared stories -- where all of these individuals weigh in on their experiences. There are reading recommendations and a listing of available programs and services and a complete story about how this all came about.

Five years ago, the Board of Directors at Cosmetic Executive Women -- the preeminent nonprofit organization representing women in the U.S. and European beauty industries -- realized that five out of their 40 members had been diagnosed with cancer. Some told their colleagues at work and some did not. But all continued to work and experienced similar challenges. The fact is that work does not stop for all women who have been diagnosed with cancer. So the mission of this group is to help women, their employers, coworkers, and caregivers deal with this problem in the same way that they have learned to deal with problems at work -- strategically, knowledgeably, and effectively. With the right tools, stress and difficulty can be minimized. And this site is one great tool.

In most cases, by the time someone notices the signs and symptoms of cancer, the cancer has developed past the early stage when it is most treatable. That is why there is so much emphasis on annual cancer screening for the most common cancers. That is the traditional wisdom.

As a result of the Mayo Lung Project study, researchers are saying the opposite. Basically, they are warning us not to go looking for trouble. It seems high-tech imaging technology can detect very small lung abnormalities that might be clinically unimportant but lead to over diagnosis of lung cancer, and subsequent toxicity and premature death from treatments for lung cancer.

The researchers placed patients in two groups. One group received multiple screening chest x-rays and spectrum tests used to identify lung cancer. The other group did not have any screening. 585 cancers were diagnosed in the first group, while 500 cancers were diagnosed in the second group.

The researchers concluded there is a very real and harmful role that over diagnosis plays in mass screening and the question remains if early detection of lung cancer through mass screening results in a net benefit to the public's health. Knowing this, I would still want to be screened. I might opt in getting second and third opinions in exploring treatment options before I rushed into any treatment though.

There is no major test or screening tool or exam that reveals the definite presence of cancer in the body. There are mammograms that can detect suspicious masses in the breast and there is a blood test that might raise concerns about the health of ovaries and there are various x-rays and scans that allow doctors to peek into the intricacies of the human body -- and some tests, like the mammogram clearly do save lives -- but some tests that seem harmless can damage the psyche while accomplishing little else.

I asked my oncologist how he would know if my breast cancer returns. He said I will receive regular mammograms and ultrasounds of my breasts. And he will perform in-office exams every few months. He will complete a breast exam and will feel my neck for enlarged lymph nodes. He will listen to my lungs and feel my stomach. But largely, he will rely on me to report symptoms and signs and complaints -- because these are the true indicators that something is amiss.

I imagined myself getting a whole host of tests on my whole body to rule out that cancer is invading every part of me. But this won't happen without reason -- because some tools, like imaging tests, may detect noncancerous abnormalities and false positives that lead to unnecessary psychological stress and tests -- and sometimes even surgery. So if I develop a persistent cough that can't be controlled, perhaps my oncologist will order a chest x-ray. If headaches begin to plague me and relief is not in sight, then perhaps a scan of my head will be in order. But as long as I feel well, the assumption is that I am well. It's better for my soul this way -- to live life without the constant worry that cancer will return. And it's a whole lot more cost effective too.

In 2003, University of Idaho and Utah State University researchers cloned three mules. The success of the cloning came about by manipulating calcium levels. Calcium affects how quickly cells divide. The researchers are hoping that calcium levels and function might explain why horses and mules develop cancer at much lower rates than humans. Because of these cloning facts and findings, they base a possible hypothesis for discovering a key to cancer on the fact that calcium imbalances are indicators of human prostate cancer and diabetes. According to a news report aired on KBCI News in Boise, Idaho, no male horse or mule has ever been diagnosed with prostate cancer and melanoma does not metastasize in their bodies.

Two of the three healthy cloned mules, Idaho Star and Idaho Gem, are preparing to race in Winnemucca, Nevada at the Mule Races and Draft Horse Challenge. The cloned mules will gain worldwide attention next week when they become the first cloned mules to participate in a sporting competition. Perhaps one day, cloned mules will help win the race in a cure for cancer.

The good news is more breast cancers are caught early because of the technological advancement of diagnostic tools being used during the screening process. The not-so-good news is once they find cancer, they cannot accurately tell if it will spread. Therefore, cancer treatments might be inappropriate and unnecessary for the cancer being treated. The goal is to create tests that will determine the most effective course of treatment for the cancer diagnosed.
 
Target Discovery scientists will be working with University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers to develop a new generation of cancer diagnostic tools that go beyond simple detection to determining which of the cancers found are invasive cancers.

According to Target Diagnostics, the body modifies its proteins to create many isoforms that control biological activity. These modifications can go awry, making isoforms the best indicators of the type and severity of many diseases like cancer. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers will provide the company with breast cancer samples, and the scientists will use a technology they developed, called Isotope-Differentiated Binding Energy Shift Tags, to find protein biomarkers. This information will lead to the development of diagnostic tests that can tell the difference between invasive and non-invasive forms of breast cancer. Once this goal is reached, they hope to do this for other cancers as well.