I'm an organizer, a plan-maker, a woman of many lists. It's all part of my Type A personality -- the one that contributes to a bit of stress but also helps me stay on top of things. I like staying on top of things.

Lists have become more important to me than ever, thanks to cancer and chemo and my forgetful brain. If I want to remember something, I must write it down. If I let just a moment pass without recording the thought I want to keep, it's gone. So I have ongoing grocery lists, household to-do lists, task lists, even lists of questions I want to ask my doctor. Since I see my doctors just once every few months, I keep a running list. Sometimes the list is quite long when I arrive for my appointment. Sometimes I don't have time to cover each topic. Sometimes I transfer questions onto future lists.

It would be nice if I could get all my medical questions answered at each visit. I once read that the typical amount of time a doctor spends with a patient is eight minutes -- so it makes sense I never cross off all my list items. But in the future, I may do better at covering my bases, thanks to this advice I found in the in the July 2007 issue of Good Housekeeping.

Someone asked me the other day how I continue to come up with topics for my posts. I wish I could say it was a chore to find material on cancer, but it isn't. There is always something to write about -- so much to write about, in fact, that if I had the time and energy, I could write volumes each day.

I find my topics in newspapers, in magazines, and in books. I spot them on television, on the radio, on the internet. I draw from personal experience and from others' experiences. I write and write and write because cancer just keeps on appearing in my life. I wish it didn't.

Cancer is everywhere. And it offers me an endless reserve of material that just keeps stacking up. So how do I come up with topics for my posts? I don't. The topics come to me.

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.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, MD, is the deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. He is also a blogger and authors his very own blog -- called Dr. Len's Cancer Blog.

Dr. Len writes on his blog about all sorts of topics related to cancer. He shares his opinion on the recent drop in breast cancer cases (December 15, 2006), he promotes the Great American Smokeout (November 14, 2006), he sounds off on lung cancer screenings (October 25, 2006), and he urges parents to always slather sunscreen on their children (October 5, 2006). He has so much more to say -- and his blog is a great stop for those wishing for more information on hot cancer topics.

As this year comes to a close, Dr. Len offers a review of what he believes were the hottest cancer topics of 2006.

Dr. Len reflects in his blog about decreased cancer death rates that represent real progress in the fight against cancer. He calls the HPV vaccine a breakthrough and he recaps the STAR trial -- a comparison of raloxifene to tamoxifen to reduce the risk of recurrent breast cancer in post-menopausal women -- with emphasis on how raloxifene proved just as effective as tamoxifen, but with a better safety profile. He calls new targeted therapies a dream -- with a hefty price tag -- sure to garner debate and discussion in 2007.

Dr. Len reviews the Surgeon General's report on second-hand smoke -- it's harmful to non-smokers, the report says -- and he marvels at the capability of science to approach an understanding of what makes a cancer cell a cancer cell. He also remarks on how remarkable it is that chronic myelogenous leukemia is in fact chronic and no longer fatal, thanks to the drug Gleevec.

Of course, there is ample attention given to the declining incidence of breast cancer, reportedly due to less women using hormone replacement therapy, and the risks weighing on those who are overweight and obese, and survivors and supporters who gathered for Celebration on the Hill -- the site of one incredible American Cancer Society event.

Dr. Len closes his review of 2006 with recognition of three celebrities who lost their lives this year to cancer -- Dana Reeve, Ann Richards, and Ed Bradley. And while he recognizes there are other lives and other stories that deserve mention, there is simply not enough time or space for him to do justice to every noteworthy item.

"What we have seen over the past year is an incredible leap forward in cancer research, diagnosis and treatment, and I suspect there are going to be even more exciting developments in the coming year," says Dr. Len who looks forward to 2007 -- a year that is sure to deliver more hope and more progress in the fight against cancer.

Who and what was the most googled in 2006? The Year-End Google Zeitgeist top ten lists for general and news searches on the Internet this year include Paris Hilton and Bebo -- and cancer.

Of the celebrities most searched for, Paris Hilton outranked Orlando Bloom and the social networking site Bebo outranked MySpace. In the news category, cancer ranked as the third most searched for topic, before podcasting, autism, Hurricane Katrina, and bankruptcy.

The top ten Google searches were, in this order: Bebo, MySpace, World Cup, Metacafe, Radioblog, Wikipedia, Video, Rebelde, Mininova and Wiki. The top ten Google news searches were, in this order: Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, cancer, podcasting, Hurricane Katrina, bankruptcy, Martina Hingis, autism, the 2006 NFL Draft and Celebrity Big Brother.

Surprised to see Paris Hilton topping the list of news searches? Sadly, me neither. Personally, I am not certain that she has ever done anything newsworthy, other than having proven a supreme talent for the uniquely cunning ability to stay in the headlines for no particularly meaningful reason.

It is substantially interesting that cancer was the third most searched for news topic this year. I know that those whose lives have been touched by cancer can feel very alone, and if this proves anything, we are certainly not alone in trying to sort through the many issues linked to cancer.

I'm sending off my wig to a new friend tomorrow. It's all wrapped and boxed and packaged and ready to travel from Gainesville, Florida to the east coast of the sunshine state where it will land in the hands of a young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

This new friend found me here -- on The Cancer Blog -- and we have been corresponding back and forth via e-mail about all sorts of cancer topics -- like surgery and pathology and chemotherapy and most recently, wigs. She asked me just the other day what type of wig I wore after I lost my hair to chemotherapy. I told her I didn't like full wigs, that they felt too unnatural, that I feared my little boys would rip them off my head in the middle of the grocery store. I told her I opted for underhair -- a hairfall of sorts made of plain, white, soft cotton on the top with hair hanging only from the sides and back. It is worn with hats, to cover the cotton part, and it feels quite secure -- although it did sail off my head at the beach one day, compliments of a strong breeze.

I told my new friend that I was completely happy with my choice. I told her the underhair is made of human hair and that customers get to choose the color, texture, length, and size. The wig can be washed, dried, curled, styled, and cut. It looks so real that some people didn't even know chemotherapy took my hair. It was the perfect disguise for me.

I led my new friend in the direction of this wig -- www.hiphat.com -- where she could order her very own handmade underhair. I told her to ask her doctor for a prescription for a cranial prothesis and to see if her insurance company would reimburse her some of the cost of this fairly expensive wig option. And then I realized it would be silly for her to do all this work and spend so much money when my wig is tucked away in my closet, sitting pretty on a nice styrofoam head, doing nothing more than collecting dust.

I don't need my wig anymore. But my new friend does. So tomorrow, it begins traveling her way. And she can keep it for as long as she needs it, for as long as I don't need it. Which I hope is forever.

I have made on-line visits to Wikipedia many times -- mostly for information on cancer. And what I've found are endless resources, thoroughly-covered topics, and material that is easy to read and easy to understand. Wikipedia, a free on-line encyclopedia -- where readers can participate in editing and changing content -- offers information on just about any topic you can imagine. And here are seven stops you might make in pursuit of cancer-related material.

We are not the homeliest bloggers in the hills, as Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip described the original Sadie Hawkins, but today is our version of the American folk tradition of Sadie Hawkins Day here at The Cancer Blog.

We are not going to ask you to dance because that would be silly -- this is a blog after all -- but we are inviting you to tell us what you would like to read more about -- what you would like to read less about -- and what you might like to read about that we haven't been blogging about at all.

More research -- less research; more human interest -- less human interest -- more blogging from a personal perspective -- less personal; more tips -- less tips in facing the struggles with cancer; more nutrition and recipes -- less food talk; more prevention topics -- less prevention.

We try in earnest, each and every day, to blog about important issues in all-things-cancer-related, but as we get dressed up in our finest each day, we are inviting you to give us an idea how close we come and how far we need to go in publishing what you want to know.

I recently learned that the CBS website features a whole section of public service announcements about various topics -- such as child abduction, depression, HIV/AIDS, menopause, osteoporosis, and heart disease. But what first caught my eye when I was visiting this site was the topic of breast cancer -- because this is the disease I am fighting. And then I spotted a section about colorectal cancer. I was intrigued about a television network's commitment to public health issues. So I kept reading and learned a thing or two about the CBS Cares initiative -- that is also delivered through television spots.

I learned that hundreds of hours have been spent researching each featured subject. And I learned that experts in each field have been consulted and interviewed for accurate and up-to-date information. I found that the basics of each topic are included on the website as well as detailed information that viewers might not otherwise know. For breast cancer, readers can learn about breast cancer in general, about early detection, and about risk factors. And there are video clips of celebrity spokespeople -- like Marg Helgenberger and Melina Kanakaredes -- who share their voices on the topic. For colorectal cancer, readers can gain insight into the prevalence of the disease by region. They can learn about polyps, about warning signs, about treatment options, and about survival rates. And celebrities Stockard Channing and Charles S. Dutton voice their messages about this disease. Doctor interviews and information from the American Cancer Society are sprinkled into the content of these very thorough, informative, and enlightening pages.

Dr. Jay Winsten, Associate Dean and Director of the Frank Stanton Center at the Harvard School of Public Health says, "It is truly unprecedented for a television network to create a website that draws so extensively and effectively on the expertise of numerous world-leaders in pubic health research." And now, CBS has set the precedent.