White House press secretary Tony Snow says his resignation has nothing to do with cancer and everything to do with money. According to sources from the Bush administration, he will step down from his position. Snow, however, is not making an announcement at this time.

"I'm not going to be able to go the distance, but that's primarily for financial reasons." Snow said. "I've told people when my money runs out, then I've got to go."

"Blessings arrive in unexpected packages -- in my case, cancer," writes White House Press Secretary Tony Snow in the July issue of Christianity Today.

Snow, who discovered in March that his colon cancer had recurred and spread to his liver, said his life-threatening setback is also life-affirming. It has strengthened his faith and brought clarity to his life.

"We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator," says the 51-year-old.

The pathology results are in -- the five small polyps removed from President Bush's colon on Saturday are not cancerous.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow announced today that microscopic evaluations of the five polyps confirm the preliminary diagnosis: tubular adenoma -- or as Snow called them: "garden variety polyps."

Nearly two-thirds of all polyps are adenomas, the vast majority of them tubular adenomas. It is not uncommon to find these polyps in routine colonoscopies.

President Bush is keeping up with his colon cancer screenings. Good thing -- because five small growths were found and removed during his latest scan on Saturday.

The polyps found inside his large intestine were all less than one centimeter in size and did not appear suspicious. Still, they were sent to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to be microscopically examined for signs of cancer. Polyps can turn into cancer, so finding them early is the best way to prevent the disease and improve the odds of surviving it. It takes 48 to 72 hours for pathology reports to come back, but the majority of polyps this size are unlikely to be cancerous.

Bush is no stranger to polyps. In 1998, after a similar scan, two polyps were found. In 1999, two more surfaced. And while none were found during his 2002 screening, he has become a prime candidate for regular examinations. For the general population, colonoscopy tests are recommended every 10 years.

"When and if the end comes, no one will approach it better than you," said Larry King to Tammy Faye Messner during a live television interview Thursday night.

Friday morning, the end arrived -- Tammy Faye lost her long and courageous battle with inoperable cancer. She was 65.

A Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, talk show host, reality show star, and former wife of disgraced televengalist Jim Bakker, Tammy Faye was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996. She defied all medical predictions after her disease spread to her lungs in 2004, and she lived on with an inspiring amount of grace and dignity. Weighing only 65 pounds and battling almost constant pain, she spoke with Larry King just days ago -- with both her trademark make-up and a smile on her face -- and she talked openly and candidly about her death. She didn't know when her time would come. But she was ready.

The end has come for Tammy Faye. Surely, no one approached it quite like her.

Edward Yang, best director winner at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, died Friday at his Beverly Hills home from complications of colon cancer. He had been battling the disease for seven years but kept his condition private. He was 59.

Yang, an American citizen born in Shanghai, first made a career for himself as a computer engineer. On his 30th birthday, he decided to change directions. He became a filmmaker.

Known for his realistic movie portrayals of modern Taiwan, Yang favored stories set in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. He is responsible for the 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day. First-time actor Chang Chen worked on this film and then went on to star in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Ang Lee kung fu hit.

Brussel sprouts contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fiber. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin. They contain three types of phyto's, all shown to have either protective qualities against cancer, or enzyme producing qualities that have been shown during research to fight cancer cells in different ways.

When boiling foods they tend to lose some of the vitamins and nutrients into the water. So here is a roasted brussel sprout recipe that is very easy to prepare and the brussel sprouts keep their natural nutty flavor.

Vicki's Roasted Brussel Sprouts
1 lb Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 onion cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss all the ingredients except for the onions in a large bowl to evenly coat the brussel sprouts. Pour brussel sprouts onto a baking tray and spread apart. Bake for 20 minutes then stir or flip and add the onions and bake for 20 minutes more.

There are several treatment options for liver metastasis, one being surgery. Results published in the Archives of Surgery state that repeat surgery to remove cancer that has spread to the liver provides significantly improved survival among patients with colorectal cancer.

The surgery, called hepatectomy, is the surgical removal of cancer and the surrounding tissue. Researchers recently evaluated data including treatment with repeat hepatectomies among patients with colorectal cancer and liver metastasis. The study included 64 patients who underwent one or more hepatectomies followed by chemotherapy.

At five years the overall survival was 53 percent. Among patients who experienced a cancer recurrence, five-year overall survival measured from the first hepatectomy was 73 percent among patients who underwent repeated hepatectomy, compared with 43 percent among patients without repeated surgery.

If you eat a lot of things with a high glycemic load, which is a measurement of how quickly food raises your blood sugar, you may have problems not only related to diabetes or being over weight, but you could run a higher risk of colorectal cancer. A Harvard Medical School study involving 38,000 women saw an increased risk of colon cancer related to the white foods like pasta, white rice, white bread, potatoes, and pastries. The lower glycemic load foods like whole wheat bread or multi grain breads and brown rice comes with fiber. Another Harvard study showed an increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer in women who are overweight and sedentary.

Is the cancer in your family inherited? Some families experience large amounts of cancer and whether it is environmental, every day living habits, or genetics are all factors that should be looked into. Genetic testing, usually performed with a blood sample, may provide information about you and an increased risk for cancer because of family genetics.

For instance, nearly everyone born with familial adenomatous polyposis (the genetic predisposition to colon cancer) develops the disease by age 40 if preventive surgery isn't done. Knowing this early can aid in prevention and early detection. Talk with your doctor about genetic counseling. A Genetic Counselor provides individuals and families with information on the nature, inheritance, and implications of genetic disorders to help them make informed medical and personal decisions. Genetic counselors often work in clinics with oncologists or gastroenterologists and focus on cancer risk.

Since the 1970s, researchers have suspected that diet and nutrition are related to colorectal cancer risk. Numerous studies published since that time have confirmed the connection between what we eat and risk of this cancer. Many health experts agree that a high fiber diet is important for cancer prevention, but questions remain about how much and which types of high fiber foods may reduce colorectal cancer risk most effectively. This has led to interest in specific high fiber foods, especially whole grains.

Start the day with a bowl of whole grain cereal or oatmeal. For cold cereals, choose one that contains at least 6 grams of fiber per serving and make sure you pick one where sugar does not appear first, second or third in the ingredient list. Oatmeal is not only high fiber but studies show that it helps reduce cholesterol. But if you are like me I am not fond of the mushy breakfast food. Until a dear musician friend introduced me to steel oats. Now I can't get enough of these nutty oats and even eat them for late night snacks.

Steel cut oats are whole grain groats which have been cut into only two or three pieces. Which means the the inner portion of the oat kernel is not missing like in rolled oats. They are golden in color and resemble small rice pieces. Steel-cut oats are also known as coarse cut oats, pinhead oats, Scotch oats, or Irish oats. Because the steel cut oats are more natural with less pre-processing, they may be more nutritious than the more popular rolled oats. But to me they give off a more nutty taste and I like the small crunch over the mushy consistency of the rolled oats. The cooking time is longer on steel cut oats but really worth the wait.

When shopping for them in your grocery store, look for canisters much like coffee cans as they are kept in air tight containers.

Preparing your Steel Oats.

1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
Fresh Blueberries or other fresh fruits.

Combine oats and other ingredients in medium saucepan and bring water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to keep from sticking on the bottom. For the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking time you will need to stir more frequently as it thickens. Spoon into a bowl and top with fresh fruit. Some people like to add a little milk to the bowl to give them a creamy texture. Makes 4 servings.

Prescription weight-loss drug Xenical hit drugstore shelves on Friday with a new name -- Alli (pronounced: "Al-eye") and with a new non-prescription strength. The newly-named drug is to be more effective with less unpleasureable side effects. Still, there's a problem surrounding this drug, regardless of its name. It's thought to cause colon cancer.

The nonprofit group Public Citizen says Alli, made by GlaxoSmithKline, has been shown in mice studies to cause pre-cancerous lesions in the colon. Since there are no long-term studies on humans, this group believes the FDA should not have approved the drug for non-prescription use. It's not clear whether or not the pre-cancerous spots will lead to colon cancer but the mere suggestion that it might is enough, says a Public Citizen spokesperson.

"What we do know is that these lesions occur much more frequently in people who do get colon cancer," he said. "Why do we recommend that everyone get a colonscopy at the age of 50? Because you pick up on these polyps when you do one. And, even though not all of the polyps are pre-cancerous, no (doctor) does a colonscopy without removing every single polyp that is found. And you do this because you know if you don't, it greatly increases the chances of getting cancer."

At the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, results were presented from a clinical trial that stated -- Continuous maintenance therapy may improve survival among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Maintenance therapy is used when a patient's cancer is stable and not exhibiting signs of progression. Researchers want to find a way to improve survival, but they also want to find a program that is not too intense and will have limited side effects.

This brings us to the study that was done on 202 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The patients were split in two groups, one group received continuous maintenance chemotherapy with a drug called Eloxatin (oxaliplatin). The second group was only treated again with chemotherapy once their cancer had started to progress.

Many Americans have begun taking folic acid supplements thinking that it can protect against colon cancer and also cut a person's risk of stroke and heart disease.

In the past, animal studies led researchers to believe that folic acid had these beneficial effects. The National Institutes of Heath funded a clinical trial that enrolled more than 1,000 men and women who previously had polyps removed from their colons.

Those in the study were randomly assigned to take daily pills containing either 1 milligram of folic acid or a placebo. The study showed that those who took the folic acid got just as many new colon polyps as those who took the placebo pills.

Robert Sandler, M.D., chief of the division of gastroenterology and hematology, told WebMD, "We are disappointed and surprised that it didn't work. In fact, there was some evidence that folic acid increased cancer risk."

A late-breaking session at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) says that "Patients with colorectal cancer whose cancer has spread to the liver have improved survival without cancer recurrences when they receive chemotherapy prior to and following surgery, compared to those treated with surgery only."

Adjuvant chemotherapy is when chemo is used after surgery. Neoadjuvant treatment is when chemotherapy is given to shrink the tumor to allow for better surgical removal.

The second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States is colorectal cancer. Liver metastasis is common among patients with advanced disease. A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the use of chemotherapy before and after surgery compared to surgery alone. The trial included 364 patients who were divided into two treatment groups.

At nearly four years' followup, recurrence-free survival was 42.4 percent for patients receiving chemotherapy before and after surgery, compared with only 33.2 percent for those treated with surgery only.