Filed under: Worthy Wisdom "What one thing did you learn at Canyon Ranch?" my dad asked me the other day. We hadn't yet fully discussed my April trip to this Arizona health and healing destination and so he wanted to know what I had absorbed during my four days in the desert. I couldn't possibly name just one lesson I'd learned. But I could sum up all of my lessons in one broad category. This is what I told him: I learned how to change my lifestyle. I learned how to change the way I live while at Canyon Ranch. I've since come to realize this is what most of us need to do to rid ourselves of our bad habits, our unhealthy ruts. There's nothing temporary about getting healthy. It's takes a lifetime commitment. I lacked commitment before Canyon Ranch. I have commitment now. I'm committed to eating right, exercising, minimizing stress, processing my anxiety, focusing on family, prioritizing, and so much more -- all because of cancer and what I learned at Canyon Ranch. To borrow from my Canyon Ranch life lessons, click here and take a look at my Worthy Wisdom series. You'll find 17 posts here -- and as you read them, you'll see how I couldn't possibly name just one thing I learned. Thanks Canyon Ranch for the the education of a lifetime.

Filed under: All Cancers , Blogs , Services , Cancer Survivors Marcia, the creator of MyLifeLine, has a dream: To make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families. A cancer survivor herself, she understands what it means to be diagnosed, undergo treatments -- and still be present and available to the questions of concerned family members and friends. At age 27, Marcia was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. To say it was unexpected is an understatement of vast proportions! At the time of the diagnosis, she was living in Chicago and working as a flight attendant for American Airlines. She went from flying the friendly skies to a complete hysterectomy, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. One clear memory is the spiritual support she received from family and friends. "For that I am eternally grateful," she says.

Filed under: Celebrity news I watched ABC's Primetime: Family Secrets on Tuesday night. Correspondent Cynthia McFadden went behind the scenes with actor and famous Baldwin brother Daniel as he trudged his way through a Malibu drug rehab experience. It wasn't his first help-seeking trip -- at one point in his life, he went to rehab six times in four years. It's a disease, this whole addiction thing, say experts who believe addicts harbor a genetic predisposition for their bad habits. Baldwin agrees. And he calls this ninth stint in rehab his chemotherapy. He needs it, he says, to beat his disease. McFadden asked Baldwin if his comparison of addiction to cancer wasn't a bit off target. Isn't choice part of the addiction equation, she inquired. "No," he responded. His disease will be with him for the rest of his life, he explained. It's no different really than if he was battling cancer. I'm not sure about this. I see the genetic argument. I understand addictive personalities. I know it must be hard to kick addiction. But I don't know if I'd put it in the same category as cancer -- because addicts can elect to get help and it can work. Even though nearly 80 percent of those who complete rehab programs go back to using, it's possible to come out clean. Research shows it takes 90 days for the brain to rid itself of this "disease." Research shows there may never be a true cure for cancer. So I'm just not sure about Baldwin's "chemotherapy." What about you? Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: All Cancers , Research , Stress Reduction , Cancer Caregivers Partners of cancer survivors may be at risk for depression and are susceptible to the same stresses as cancer survivors themselves, says a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Filed under: Childhood Cancers , Kidney Cancer , Cancer events , Celebrity fundraisers , Celebrity spokesperson , Events , Fundraisers

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Daily news I get mammograms every six months. I get ultrasounds every six months. I get a breast MRI every year. That's my typical screening routine, intended to keep breast cancer from invading my life for a second time. This combination of testing -- primarily the MRI part -- has not been typical for all at-risk women. It's just the plan my doctors have determined is the best insurance policy for me. But as of yesterday, the American Cancer Society began recommending regular use of MRI scans, rather than conventional mammograms, for women facing a breast cancer risk of 15 percent or more. Family history places one to two percent of women at a 20 percent higher risk of developing the disease than women without such a history. Women carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation face a lifetime risk of up to 65 percent. And women with a personal history of the disease are at risk of a repeat diagnosis. These are the women MRI screening can help. Recent studies show MRI to be much more sensitive than mammograms. And in an investigation of 969 women diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast, MRI found 30 additional tumors in the opposite breast previously missed by mammograms and physical exams. Not typically used for routine screenings due to cost and a few false alarms -- sometimes the scans detect suspicious areas that once surgically tested turn out to be benign -- MRI is still the best tool for detecting more cancerous tumors earlier. There is no proof yet that the cancers detected by MRI will translate into longer lives for patients. Life-extending benefits will become clear only after women are followed for a longer period of time. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: All Cancers , Exercise , Obesity , Nutrition , Cancer prevention foods , Vitamins and nutrients , Smoking

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Filed under: Brain Cancer , Magazines , Thought for the Day OK, we all know young women get breast cancer. But the way some talk about the pair -- young women and the deadly disease -- it would seem finding a young one living with this type of cancer is like locating that needle in a haystack. Many a young woman -- like me -- have heard doctors and nurses and technicians and family and friends remark, "you are too young for the disease," and then dismiss cancer suspicions as needless worry. The median age for women diagnosed with breast cancer is 65. But think about this fact, published in the Spring/Summer edition of Beyond: Live & Thrive After Breast Cancer . More than 240,000 women in the United States age 40 and under are living with breast cancer. Each year in this country, more than 14,000 women 40 years old and younger are diagnosed with breast cancer, says Boston oncologist Ann Partridge, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. That's a lot of young women. That's a lot of breast cancer. And yet, mammograms still are not recommended for women under the age of 40. Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Prevention , Daily news Simply being female puts all women at risk for breast cancer. That and age, race, family history, personal history, genetic make-up, when they had children, when they reach menopause, and a whole host of other possible factors. Now U.S. doctors are officially calling body mass index, breast density, and alcohol consumption predictors of the disease, says Therese Bevers, medical director of the Cancer Prevention Center, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Bevers helped write updated guidelines for the prevention of breast cancer and presented them at the 12th annual National Comprehensive Cancer Network in Hollywood, Florida on Friday. The guidelines, featuring the revised list of risk factors, also offer treatment options for women -- including bilateral mastectomy for women who have tested positive for the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 as well as possible medical treatments with drugs such as tamoxifen and raloxifene. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments