Now I advise everyone to take all food-related recommendations with a grain of salt, because what first may appear healthy may not be in the long run -- and what is once deemed unhealthy may one day turn into a health food, like coffee.

Now, here's something new to think about:

It turns out the average mushroom may have healing powers. A new study out of Tufts University found that white button mushrooms help boost the body's natural immunity against tumors and viruses.

Source: Woman's Day, September 12, 2007

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.

MyLifeLine.org is a nonprofit organization that encourages cancer patients and survivors to create free, customized websites. Their mission is to empower patients to build an online support community of family and friends to foster connection, inspiration, and healing.

I've been doing yoga for a few years now, and even though holding downward dog can sometimes be a bit torturous, I do it anyway because it helps me calm my mind and put things in perspective, if for no other reason than I'm can't think of any but how much I want to collapse into a resting posture. I truly believe the world would be a better place if we all did yoga and took time out to calm our minds and let go, even for an hour a week.

So I think yogaHOPE is a great idea -- it's a non-profit outreach program offering yoga classes to women in recovery. The HOPE in the name stands for Healing Ourselves through Personal Empowerment. Yoga not only has benefits for the body -- it helps restore self esteem and body image, and helps improve energy and strength dramatically. Yoga can empower -- I've never felt more invigorated and confident then when I walk out of a class. Do you agree?

In this Worthy Wisdom series, I have been spouting off all sorts of grand ideas about health and healing, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness. What I share all comes from Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. I spent four days there. I plan to spend a lifetime practicing what their experts preach.

Canyon Ranch worked for me. I bought into every one of their healthy living approaches and for the two months since I've departed this desert destination, I've done just about everything right -- the eating, the exercising, the de-stressing. And as I sit here eating a bowl of red raspberries instead of a bag of chips and handfuls of M&Ms, I think it's only fair I make a confession.

I've made many attempts at changing my lifestyle. I've gone without sweets several times in my life, only to later reintroduce them into my daily routine and inevitably go way overboard on my consumption. The same goes for soda. There have been times when I've obsessed about exercise. And times when I've let it go altogether. My stress levels have been up and down and all around. I've searched long and hard for the motivation to change, to do better, be better, feel better. It took cancer to push me over the edge, toward positive and long-lasting change.

I haven't yet made these Fruit and Nut Bars, but I managed to consume several of them during my stay at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Besides bowls of apples, oranges, and bananas provided at every location at the Ranch, guests of this health and healing destination can request additional healthy snacks at dining areas. Of everything offered, this was my favorite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/2 cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
3/4 cup honey
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried chopped apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced dates, about 10 medium
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I wrote recently about the hidden amounts of sugar found in the foods we love so dearly. I learned all about this topic during my visit to Tucson's Canyon Ranch -- a world renowned health and healing destination -- and this sweet lesson came right as I'd decided to rid my diet of as much sugar as possible. Learning that one can of soda houses 12 teaspoons of sugar and a typical container of fruit yogurt has eight sealed the refined sugar deal for me. No more, I say. It's just not worth it.

Now here comes the lowdown on fat. Some say the fat we eat is the fat we wear. Perhaps. But one thing is for sure -- fat kills. That's Fit blogger Rigel Gregg wrote a May 24 post all about it, documenting five ways wearing fat can kill us -- it strains our heart and raises our insulin, leading to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, for example. Now I'm here to clue you in on the fat hiding in more of our favorite foods.

Here goes.

Zigman Creative Projects Foundation has created its first album of original songs for people living with cancer and their families and friends. The non-profit foundation aims to support cancer prevention, research, treatment, and wellness through the sale of their album.

The album is titled The Colour's Coming Back. Each of the songs on the album deals with a different aspect of the cancer experience. Its great that you can listen to the songs on the website.

You can even click here to read more about the songs on the album. Each title is listed and they explain in detail each song's meaning.

Here is one example: A Taste for Life

Often people's initial reaction to hearing they have cancer is one of fear and shock. Sometimes they wonder if there will ever be a light at the end of the tunnel. This is especially true if the treatment process is difficult. A Taste for Life touches on these feelings, but also offers the possibility that deep within one's psyche there is a life force that gives people courage and motivates them to go on.

very cool!

Cancer Lifeline believes cancer survivors - from diagnoses - their families, friends and coworkers, and caregivers are all people living with cancer. They believe that emotional, spiritual, and mental components of health are as important as the physical. Cancer Lifeline values listening to the needs of their clients and creating excellent services to meet those needs.

One of the things I loved about reading and seeing on their website is the beautiful healing gardens. If you live in the Seattle area this is a beautiful place to visit.

• The Earth/Sky Garden - is partly open to the sky and lovely views, and partly sheltered by an arbor.
• The Celebration Garden - is completely open to the sun and sky and populated with a wide variety of colorful plants.
• The Reflection Garden - is a place for contemplation and meditation. Quiet shadows mix with rich greens of shade-loving plants, while a small fountain bubbles across rocks and moss.

These gardens are just a small taste of what you can experience at Cancer Lifeline. Click here to find out all of what Cancer Lifeline has to offer.

All Cancer Lifeline services are free of charge.

Breast cancer survivor Linda Griggs offers a wide variety of hands-on healing products for other survivors -- like an inner child notebook with markers for journaling and expressing emotions, a wooden box with instructions on how to create a healing shrine, a non-fiction account of her own cancer journey, and so much more. Griggs, who also teaches workshops and speaks out on cancer as a hero's quest, is now onto something new. She's stringing beads.

Think about this:

"After helping a young breast cancer survivor make a "power necklace" to help pump her up before chemo, I realized perhaps other survivors might benefit from having their own empowering necklaces," Griggs says.

Griggs has begun making necklaces from natural stones associated with chakras she believes are most relevant to survivors. The root chakra, for example is connected with survival, the sacral chakra with emotional balance, the solar plexus chakra with personal power, the heart chakra with giving and receiving love, and the throat chakra with free expression.

Each necklace -- there are earring sets too -- come with an explanation of the stones and chakras involved and each has its own unique name. There is the Amazon Warrior, the Wild Woman, and the Heart Light.

Think about a visit to Griggs' website when you have a moment. And bead all about the resources this one survivor has crafted for those wishing to transcend the depths of cancer.

My friend's husband lost his mother to liver cancer during the wee hours of Sunday morning. He had traveled with his family from Ohio to Florida expecting to take his mom home with him so she could spend her last months where she once lived.

Steve never got to take his mom home. She died just days after he landed in Florida. Still, I am confident he won't return to Ohio empty-handed. His positive and healthy perspective on losing his mom will surely keep him company.

I got to see Steve and Kim -- my very best friend whose bouncy ringlets I envied long before I got my own post-chemotherapy curls -- on the same day Steve's mom died. They needed to get away and wanted a distraction for their two small children.

I am honored to have been chosen as my friends' destination -- not only so they could begin to heal from their loss, but because I gained a renewed sense of calm about death and dying during the time we talked and laughed and reminisced.

Steve's mom, 69, died at home in the loving arms of hospice caretakers who offered her round-the-clock care. During her final hours, she received a bath, a back rub, and a massage with body lotion. She sent non-verbal messages to her family members indicating she wished to be alone and once she had convinced everyone to head for bed, she took her final breaths. She died facing a wall, in contrast to her usual position in which she faced the door, as if to welcome all visitors. Her final resting pose was perhaps her way of saying good-bye. Steve sees it this way.

Just moments after Steve's mom was driven away in a funeral home car, Steve saw the clouds part. And then the rain fell. "Mom just figured out how to turn on the water," Steve said.

I don't think I'll ever forget this remark. Or the fact that the rain didn't last for very long on Sunday. The day Steve's mom died was gorgeous, glorious, and sunny.

There's so much more we talked about -- like the convertible Steve's mom drove and how he thought about placing her urn, her photo, and a scarf in the seat and taking his mom for one last spin before turning the car in -- and we passed the day in a celebratory manner. This, I think, is exactly what Steve's mom would have wanted.

When you are diagnosed with cancer you may experience an array of different emotions --fear, anxiety, depression, anger, worry and many others. Some cancer patients or survivors may feel alone or unable to talk to friends or family members about how they are really feeling.

Research has suggested that writing can help with the healing process after cancer. Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) is hosting a networking meeting for women affected by breast cancer called Healing with words: Writing the Breast Cancer Experience.

Alysa Cummings, MLS, CPT, of Pink Ribbon Poetry, will explain how women affected by breast cancer can use writing to heal. Attendees will hear a presentation by members of Pink Ribbon Poetry. Following the presentation, attendees can choose to share in a poetry therapy group and learn about online resources for writing their stories.

The networking meeting will be held on April 26, 2007, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Cherry Hill Library in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A light dinner and refreshments will be available after the networking event. To register for this free event, visit LBBC's website or call the office at 610-645-4567.

It does not matter what kind of cancer you have been diagnosed with, this therapy can work for anyone, you can take advantage of writing in a journal in your own home. It can help heal your mind on so many levels. Try it out. You will be pleasantly surprised at the release it can give you.

What a gift it would be if it were possible to sleep through cancer, literally sleep through the entire experience -- from diagnosis through the end of treatment -- and wake up on the other end of the bad dream. Unfortunately, this isn't possible. We must be alert and aware and active in our own plans for survival. All we are typically permitted are now-and-then naps and nighttime sleep -- if we can manage to actually sleep at night.

My sleep was never disturbed during my cancer journey. Night after night, just after my head hit my pillow, my body drifted right to sleep -- only waking for brief trips to the bathroom and to get out of bed the next day. I might have had an occasional sleepless night. But for the most part, I count myself as one lucky cancer patient, blessed with restful and regular sleep.

Not all cancer patients are privileged sleepers. And with all I was enduring during my own cancer ordeal -- emotions, hospitalizations, treatments, side effects, and pain -- it's a wonder I was able to manage so well in the sleep department.

Sleep is critical for maintaining strength and energy while fighting cancer -- while living life in general really. When nighttime sleep is disrupted, interrupted, or downright impossible, normal functioning and healing are compromised. So the quest for good, quality sleep should make its way to the top of your cancer to-do list. And if you are not sure just how to begin such a quest, consider these seven strategies for sleeping through cancer -- compliments of Marie-Helene Savard, doctoral student in psychology, and Dr. Josee Savard, associate professor and researcher of psychology at Laval University Cancer Research Center in Quebec, Canada.

• Set aside at least one hour to relax before going to bed.
• Go to bed only when you feel sleepy -- which is not the same as fatigue.
• If you can't fall asleep or can't go back to sleep after 20 or 30 minutes, get out of bed and leave the bedroom. Do something else -- and only go back to bed when you feel sleepy again. Repeat as necessary.
• Get up at the same time every day -- regardless of how much sleep you got. Use an alarm clock to wake.
• Use your bedroom only for sleep and sexual activities. Avoid reading, working, watching TV, or listening to the radio in the bedroom.
• Avoid napping. If you must take a nap, do so before 3:00 PM and for less than one hour.
• Keep realistic expectations about sleep -- avoid worrying about the amount of sleep you should have or the amount of time it takes you to fall asleep -- and try to become tolerant of your lack of sleep.

Sweet dreams.

It could be the cure for the common hospital gown -- you know, the faded, ultra-thin gowns with the revealing and drafty designs. If only hospital buyers could fork over a few extra bucks, we could all lounge in our hospital beds in The Original Healing Threads -- a stylish alternative to standard-issue hospital attire.

Cancer patient Peg Feodoroff was thinking of the traditional humiliating hospital gown in the spring of 2003 while she was undergoing treatment for stage 3 melanoma and her sister, Claire, was undergoing chemotherapy for stage 4 metastatic colon cancer.

Feodoroff's thoughts led to an idea. And so she recruited Claire and another sister, Patty, and together the three sisters crafted a machine-washable, wrinkle-resistant, StainSmart garment with an Asian-inspired look and special features -- long, wide sleeves that roll up for tests, hidden panels easily accessed for bandage changing, inner pockets to hold treatment and drainage bags, and easy-to-use buttons, fasteners, and ties. Breakaway pants and robes and also part of the The Original Healing Threads collection.

A portion of The Original Healing Threads profits go to creating Claire's Foundation, a group supporting single mothers fighting terminal illnesses, in honor of Claire, who lost her battle with cancer just one year ago.

Don't wait for your local hospitals to buy into this novel idea. Buy one on-line for yourself or a loved one. Prices range from $44 to $120.

It is a they said, she said lawsuit of family against family as the children of Darrell Wayne Perry, a Nashville songwriter with credits that include Tim McGraw's Not a Moment Too Soon; Lorrie Morgan's What Part of No; Toby Keith's A Woman's Touch, I Only Miss You, and Every Promise I Ever Made; accuse their evangelical preaching aunt Darlene Bishop, and sister to the deceased, of causing the death of Perry by promising to cure him with prayer after his throat cancer diagnosis in 2003.

Perry's children say Bishop claimed she was cured of cancer through prayer and promised to cure her brother in the same way. According to news reporting, in her book Your Life Follows Your Words, Bishop wrote that faith and prayer cured her of her cancer and her brother Perry of his cancer. In a deposition, she is said to have admitted she was never diagnosed with cancer by a physician, even though she believed she had the disease.

After Perry's death from cancer, Bishop became the executor to his estate. According to the children, Bishop has not given them any of their inheritance, estimated at $750,000 dollars. The children are suing their aunt for wrongful death, clergy malpractice and fraud. Bishop denies all allegations.

The level of grief and the depth of sadness felt when losing a family member to cancer is without measure. You would think that nothing worse could possibly happen. This turn of events following the cancer diagnosis and death of Perry, however it turns out, and wherever the truth is to be found, has reached a new depth in an abyss of empty darkness.

With the intention of inspiring and offering hope to those facing the physical and spiritual challenges of surviving illness, The Healing Project is a collection of books featuring the stories of cancer survivors and survivors of other life-changing illnesses.

Founded by breast cancer survivor, publisher and successful businesswoman Debra LaChance, The Healing Project began from a place of personal cancer survivorship.

When LaChance was diagnosed with breast cancer, she said, "I would forever be tagged as someone who had cancer. It is a strange feeling and at first blush, a really lonely place to be. I knew my friends and family would care, but would anyone else? It would not take long to find that answer - and in learning of the infinite capacity of others to give of themselves."

The first volumes, Voices of Lung Cancer and Voices of Alzheimer's, are set to be released this coming May. Project editor Richard Day Gore, who is a thyroid cancer survivor sensitive to the issues of cancer survivorship, is putting out a call for breast cancer survivor stories.

"We are hoping to publish a breast cancer volume in the Fall. We have received many wonderful submissions of great depth and emotional impact, but we need more to fill out the volume and, hopefully, to fill additional volumes in the future." If you are a breast cancer survivor who would like to share your personal story as part of The Healing Project anthologies, visit The Healing Project website for details.