The following post is one of a series of posts appearing Monday through Friday on The Cancer Blog. This feature -- Today, I am grateful -- allows me to share with readers my appreciation for all the treasures in my life, both big and small. In my post-cancer world, I find It healing for my soul to be mindful of the good in my life. It is my pleasure to share my gratitude with you.

Losing my hair was one of my most traumatic cancer experiences. When first told I needed chemotherapy, I didn't fret about the poisons that would circulate throughout my body, or the nausea that might strike me. What I feared most was losing my hair. It seems silly now. I mean, hair is just hair. If I could trade my hair right now for a guarantee that cancer would never return, I'd do it. But three years ago, when cancer was new and my self-image was faltering, I couldn't stand the thought of losing it.

I did OK once my hair was gone. I found great human-hair wigs and I learned to enjoy my shower-and-go morning routine. I could get ready in an instant. It was all kind of liberating really. Now, don't get me wrong. I was glad when my hair came back. And every day when I look in the mirror, I am comforted by the fact that long dark hair now covers my head. Yes, hair is just hair. But there's just something about it that makes me feel well, happy.

Today, I am grateful for my hair.

I had a lumpectomy. It all turned of fine. I have two scars -- one underneath my armpit, one across the side of my left breast -- and while they are sometimes obvious if I wear a sleeveless shirt, they don't really bother me so much.

Some women -- about one-third to be exact -- are bothered by their lumpectomy results. Even though lumpectomy is intended to conserve the breast, these women say they are so unhappy about how their breasts look, they would consider reconstruction surgery.

According to a study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2006 conference in San Francisco, 28 percent of breast cancer patients stated they were dissatisfied with the cosmetic outcome of surgery. Of these, 46 percent believed their physical appearance was worse or much worse after surgery. Interestingly, 26 percent of these unsatisfied patients still said surgery gave them an improved sense of body image. Plastic surgeons believe this disparity stems from the relief of having had cancer removed from their bodies, leading them to feel better even though they were not happy with how their breasts looked.

Research indicates that young breast cancer survivors have a harder time recovering emotionally from cancer than women who develop the disease later in life.

In Australia, a quality of life survey including 300 women found most survivors adjusted normally within 18 months after diagnosis. But women under the age of 50 reported more of a struggle with their emotional health.

Perhaps it's the direct threat to her life, or her fertility, or her sexuality, or her body image that brings on the added challenge for a young woman. Regardless, there are no easy solutions or quick remedies for lightening the load that weighs heavily on young minds.

Breast cancer changes everything, and bouncing back from the disease takes time. And this research validates the need for programs targeted at younger women, as well as further research to more clearly identify how to better help breast cancer's youngest victims.

Photographer Paula Lerner was diagnosed with breast cancer just after beginning work on Why We Walk: The Inspirational Journey Toward a Cure for Breast Cancer -- a book that captures through photographs the momentum of millions who year after year crowd America's streets and walk to conquer this disease.

A peek into this book is offered in the form of an online slide show, hosted by the Washington Post. Set to inspiring music and lyrics and lasting just three minutes and 59 seconds, this media presentation tells a story about a disease that strikes every three minutes and kills every 14 minutes.

Gripping photographs and sobering facts dominate this powerful piece. There are shots of women in pink wigs and pink tutus, children hosing off physically and emotionally drained walkers, women holding up photographs of lost loved ones -- one with a printed message that reads, Mom, we would walk forever to bring you back. May 14, 2004. There are smiles and cheers and tears. Every image packs an emotional punch.

The facts that appear throughout the slide show really stand out. They spell out in black and white some of the most important facts about breast cancer. And here they are -- all seven of them.

• 40,970 women and 460 men will die from breast cancer annually.

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in African American women but ranks second to lung cancer in cause of cancer deaths.

• People over the age of 50 account for 77 percent of breast cancer cases.

• Breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed among Hispanic women and is the leading cause of cancer death among this group.

• Being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially after menopause.

• Risk is increased by onset of menstruation before age 12, menopause after 50, first child after 30, or no children.

• Family history of breast cancer increases risk, especially if close relatives are diagnosed before the age of 50. A first-degree relative -- mother, sister, daughter -- with breast cancer approximately doubles the risk of breast cancer.

The CyberKnife -- a powerful new weapon in the war on cancer -- involves no cutting, like the name implies. This robotic system instead uses hundreds of focused radiation beams to destroy a tumor. A robotic arm moves around the patient and an image-guided system tracks the targeted tumor. CyberKnife delivers small blasts of radiation from up to 200 angles and keeps the tumor in its sights at all times. CyberKnife treatments are completed in one to five days which is just one of the benefits of this therapy compared to traditional radiation therapy.

With traditional radiation, patients often endure treatment for five to eight weeks. And healthy tissue can be destroyed every time the patient shifts or breathes. The CyberKnife attacks the cancerous tumor only -- even while the patient breathes. CyberKnife therapy, available in only 50 hospitals in the United States, requires no mold to position patients, can treat anywhere in the body, and can help patients who no longer respond to traditional treatments.

CyberKnife is covered by insurance and approved by Medicare.

Angela Lemke was a young woman of 33 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she went through a range of emotions in the challenges of cancer surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. She speaks about feeling sick -- physically, mentally and emotionally. Lemke admits she felt shame and embarrassment at no longer fitting in and looking different after chemotherapy hair loss.

Lemke became frustrated at the hair loss alternatives available, and with her sister-in-law, designed the Inspired by You Ponytail Hat. She loved wearing it as it made her feel like her old self again. Lemke now offers individually created ponytail hats for other women experiencing chemotherapy hair loss. At the time of purchase, a woman can choose from over 288 variable combinations in creating a customized ponytail hat.

You can find out more about Lemke's ponytail hats and create one of your own online at her website. At Inspired by You the motto is: Hope Matters ... Courage Counts!

There is a vaccine that Scripps Research Institute in California researchers are working with that shows positive results in slowing down a key hunger hormone that keeps rats from gaining weight regardless of how much the rats ate -- although they caution that just because it works in rats does not mean it will work the same way in humans or that it will be a safe vaccine for humans.

This is all relatively new science, as the hormone, called Ghrelin, the researchers are testing the vaccine on was just discovered about seven years ago. The researchers do know that the hormone controls appetite in animals and humans and the current research might prove valuable in discovering more about the connections between hunger and weight gain; how the body stores fat and how to influence the hunger hormone.

At this point in time, if you are a rat concerned about controlling your weight, it's good news. Long-term, if it does show the same benefit for humans, the researchers speculate a vaccine might be developed that helps people who struggle with weight gain and loss maintain a steady and healthy weight. You know it is only a matter of time before they discover and develop something along this line, as obesity is a major threat to health for a number of diseases including cancer.

I will be honest. After a double mastectomy left my chest mutilated and scarred, I worried if I would be physically attractive to a man after breast cancer surgery. It's not that I think men are shallow, it had more to do with all that cancer was taking away in my life, and I was not sure how much I would pay in the final cost of losses.

Worse yet, I wondered if simply being someone who had been diagnosed with cancer would make people run the other way. If the private conversations I have had with other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are a true indication, these are secret fears most of us share.

We each find our own inspiration back to feeling accepted and attractive in reclaiming the every day challenges and joys of relationships and life. For me, one of the ways I found that gave me hope was watching other breast cancer survivors enter new relationships or get married. As in -- obviously it doesn't seem to matter when it comes to love how imperfect you might be physically -- cancer surgery scars and all -- or that you were someone who had cancer.

I even find inspiration in Kylie Minogue being voted the number one desired traveling companion of men in a poll conducted by British Airways. She beat out Rachel Stevens and actress Angelina Jolie for the top spot. Not bad.

Yes, I know, few of us have the attractive quality of fame, fortune and international celebrity status to carry us along, but that does not matter. The fact that Minogue was voted by men as the number one person they would most like to be seated next to on a flight just reaffirms one more time the hope factor for me.

Seriously, I am okay now, it's been a few years but I remember when this private fear hurt my heart and I wondered if cancer had stolen more from me than was obvious at the time of diagnosis. If you are newly-diagnosed and reading this, and worry and wonder privately what life will be like down the road, it only gets better and the fears and worry about sex appeal will be have been for naught. Few will run the other way.

As if the horrors of breast cancer are not enough -- surgery and recovery, chemotherapy and recovery, radiation and recovery, additional treatments and recovery -- weight gain often comes along and rounds out the full breast cancer package. It is most common for women who have chemotherapy -- the curse is not often seen for women who have surgery alone or surgery followed by radiation -- and while it may seem the lesser of all evils for some women, others may be plagued by an additional battle with weight. In addition to the self esteem blow that breast cancer delivers -- complete with scars and removal of breasts and reconstruction and hair loss -- weight gain in this body-image obsessed era can take its toll. There are also health concerns related to weight gain -- and an excess of weight is reported to sometimes influence a return of breast cancer and can be a risk factor for other cancers too.

The American Cancer Society reports that the average weight gain is five to eight pounds over a year's time -- but that gaining 25 pounds is not uncommon either. This phenomenon is somewhat of a mystery, although there are some theories about why women are at risk for this not-so-pleasant side effect of breast cancer. Some women get nauseated during chemotherapy and don't eat much -- but others have intense food cravings and tend to eat more. Body composition may also change and research shows that chemotherapy possibly diminishes lean body mass and increases fatty tissue. Menopause may also be to blame -- natural and chemically-induced menopause operate the same and both slow metabolism. So it takes more physical activity to burn what less activity accomplished prior to chemotherapy. Women experiencing treatment also tend to exercise less which can contribute to weight gain. And some women fault the Tamoxifen they take following chemotherapy -- although research does not support a strong link between the two. There are many possibilities. Yet none of them are definite. There is one definite, though -- a healthy menu, a healthy exercise routine, and a healthy support team can help women ward off this unfair consequence of an unfair disease.

In woman with fake boobs has real health worries, Busty and bothered wrote to women's medical health expert Dr. Judith Reichman asking if her breast implants will rupture during a mammogram or if there is a possibility that the implants will obscure signs of breast cancer. Dr. Reichman, who is NBC Today show's medical contributor on women's health, responded that both are valid concerns for the over four million women who have had breast augmentation. According the doctor, there were only 41 cases of implant ruptures during mammography reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between June 1992 and October 2002.

As to breast implants obscuring mammography readings, implants can cause a 15 to 50 percent decrease in the mammographically visualized breast tissue and several studies have reported false negative mammograms -- those that missed the cancer -- in 12 to 67 percent of women with breast implants. So, it's a bit of good news and bad news but women with breast implants should not put off having mammograms because of fear that the implants will be damaged or that there is no point in having a mammogram because there is a possibility the implants will obscure the early signs of breast cancer.

Breast cancer and chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ...
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY ...

I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within ...

On May 16, 12-time Grammy-nominated India.Arie released a new single I Am Not My Hair as a music video and as a single from the new album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, set for release on June 27. I heard about the new song from Priscilla's Bouncing for Boobs blog, and in chat among other breast cancer survivors. Verse three of the lyrics are specific to a woman's breast cancer experience of hair loss and chemotherapy. As usual, with inspirational independence, inner strength, an ability to see the world more clearly than most and the creative ability to express that clarity with soul, wisdom and tender truth, I predict this song will touch a deep cord within the breast cancer survivor community.

When Kathleen was diagnosed with breast cancer, her sister Priscilla wanted to help in all the ways a loving sister could think to do -- and she came up with the idea to launch Bouncing for Breast Cancer -- better known as Bouncing for Boobs -- as a way to help support her sister Kathleen with her household bills while she undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

In an effort to raise $10,000 dollars, Priscilla pledged to bounce one million times in 100 days on a trampoline. According to Priscilla, what started as a personal campaign to help one sister is gaining momentum, and the plans are now to take bouncing for boobs to a worldwide level of campaigning in support of other women and single mothers who are struggling with breast cancer.

Priscilla blogs Bouncing for Boobs and maintains the Bouncing for Breast Cancer website. In addition, she is an innovative Image and Performance Mastery coach. All of which is reflected in her blogging. I highly-recommend this blog for all women struggling with and living to survive breast cancer. There are some thoughtful posts related to honoring the self and the healing journey. And it's fun to read as Priscilla bounces her boobs at different locations around the world.

In March, we introduced you to Maddox Johnson, a little boy battling non-hodgkins T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. To help his parents pay for his medical expenses, Maddox decided to create art and auction the work on eBay.

Goldenpalace.com, known for making unusual eBay purchases and launching unique and unusual advertising campaigns, placed the winning bid for Maddox's current eBay artwork auction, by paying more than $2,873 dollars for the watercolors.

Goldenpalace.com is not shy about admitting it becomes involved in eBay auctions guaranteed to make the news. Past  eBay purchases have included actor William Shatner's kidney stone and a grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary. The Goldenpalace.com purchase of Maddox's artwork will surely raise public awareness for a seven-year-old boy fighting cancer and helping to pay for his chemotherapy treatments with his artwork.

Photo: Maddox arm-wrestling his physician. Maddox is winning!