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.

On Friday, President Bush re-authorized a federal program designed to help low-income women get screening for both breast and cervical cancer.

While funding has not yet been allocated for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the President's support for this outreach initiative is considered by many a victory in the fight against cancer.

Bush, whose mother-in-law survived cancer, says "early detection makes treatment more effective. It gives hope to patients and it saves lives."

Currently, the government spends $202 million on this program and has reached three million women who may not have otherwise received screening. With the President's new stamp of approval, the program is authorized to spend up to $275 million.

We cannot be silent is one slogan printed on specialty clothing offered by a company called Privacy. Other slogans include United We Cure and Mission. Purpose. Cure.

The slogans say a lot -- but the accomplishments of Carolyn Jones, Founder and President/CEO of Privacy, say a whole lot more.

Think about this:

Jones lost her mother to breast cancer on November 16, 2000 during a time when too many questions about the disease were left unanswered and not enough options were available for women fighting for their lives.

Times have changed, in part due to outspoken pioneers like Jones, who are spreading the word and funding the cause.

Part of the Privacy corporate goal is to support medical research and to educate women about early detection and treatment.

"It is very clear that more information and research is needed due to the yearly increase in new cases nationally," says Jones who cites statistics such as this: every 12 minutes a woman in America will die from complications associated with breast cancer. And this: more than 1,500 new cases of male breast cancer will be diagnosed this year.

Privacy, a California-based company with a social conscious, offers for both women and men an assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, hats, recommended books, accessories, breast cancer facts, and even a contest or two. A portion of all profits are donated to breast cancer initiatives with an emphasis on low-income and uninsured populations.

Check it all out right here.

President Bush, in a recent press release, declared April Cancer Control Month. It's a month for educating Americans about cancer, for raising awareness about treatments, for renewing the commitment to fighting this deadly disease.

Bush makes no mention in his release of the millions he just cut from the National Cancer Institute budget and how this might hinder this month's initiative, but he does offer a few relatively inexpensive ideas for individuals who wish to minimize their risk of developing the disease that remains the country's second leading cause of death.

"Individuals can reduce their risk of developing cancer by practicing healthy eating habits, exercising, limiting sun exposure, avoiding tobacco, knowing their family history, and getting regular screenings from the doctor," he writes.

Bush goes on to honor those lost to cancer and commends the strength of the 10 million people in the United States surviving the disease. He extends his gratitude for medical professionals, researchers, family members, and friends who support cancer patients. And he closes with a little history -- and his very own proclamation.

"In 1938, the Congress of the United States passed a joint resolution (52 Stat. 148; 36 U.S.C. 103) as amended, requesting the President to issue an annual proclamation declaring April as 'Cancer Control Month.'

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2007 as Cancer Control Month. I encourage citizens, government agencies, private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other interested groups to join in activities that will increase awareness about the steps Americans can take to prevent and control cancer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first."

GEORGE W. BUSH

On February 5, the President cut about $11 billion from the National Cancer Institute budget. On March 20, one group -- the Colorectal Cancer Coalition or C3 -- will ask Congress to return some of this money.

Colorectal cancer advocates from all over the country will descend upon Washington DC on this day, in honor of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Their plan of action on behalf of C3's first-ever Call-On Congress includes meeting with members of Congress face to face, discussing cancer research and prevention funding, and informing these powerful people that the time to cure cancer is now.

These advocates have a lot to accomplish -- and they need your help. So they ask that while they are rallying in DC that you lend your support with a few simple phone calls.

On Tuesday, March 20, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, pick up your phone and call two Senators and one Representative. Tell them now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the cancer cause.

C3 offers a step-by-step guide for making yourself heard. The group will help you locate your specific legislators and provides a script for what to say and how to say it.

"The more people who call on March 20th and ask for Congress to make funding the war on cancer a priority, the better for us all," says one advocate.

It's been one year since Dana Reeve, wife of the late Christopher Reeve, died of lung cancer at the age of 44. And the grace of this woman, who came to represent the non-smoking population of lung cancer victims, is being honored by the Lung Cancer Alliance.

"Lung Cancer Alliance extends its most heartfelt thoughts to the family
and friends of Dana Reeve," says Laurie Fenton, president of the alliance.

"Dana's beauty, grace and valiant struggle against lung cancer will remain indelibly etched in our hearts and minds. In her memory -- and in the memory of loved ones lost to this disease, smoker or not -- let us come together to replace decades of stigma and neglect with hope, greater compassion and support for those living with or at risk for this disease. It is the right thing to do."

The Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to patient support and advocacy for those living with lung cancer, the number one cancer killer.

Lung cancer takes more lives -- about 160,000 Americans this year -- than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney cancers and melanoma combined.

United States Representative Charlie Norwood will soon depart Washington, for good. He will head straight home to Georgia where he will receive hospice care now that he has decided to decline all further treatment for lung cancer that has spread to his liver.

An air ambulance will fly Norwood, 65, home as early as Wednesday or Thursday. The congressman, who had been traveling the halls of Congress in an eclectic cart, with oxygen tank in tow has spent much of his time this session in the hospital.

Suffering from chronic lung disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Norwood received a lung transplant in 2004. Doctors then discovered a tumor on his non-transplanted lung and removed it in 2006. But the cancer had already spread to his liver. And while Norwood considered continued treatment, he ultimately determined, "No, you know what, it's time to go home."

Norwood, whose condition was acknowledged by President Bush in his last State of the Union speech, is said to have been as stubborn in his fight against cancer as he was in this fight for the legislation he thought was important for America.

National Cancer Institute director John Neiderhuber worries the NCI 2007 budget could be slashed by five to 10 percent. And he worries that key cancer research will inevitably come to a halt as a result.

Worries stem from budget cuts proposed by President Bush. Cuts would cost the NCI between $36 million and $4.7 billion -- but Bush reports that NCI funding has doubled in the past 10 years and would still remain relatively high. And due to the recent American Cancer Society announcement that cancer deaths dropped for the second straight year, White House spokesman Tony Fratto says, "We're proud of the significant investment that we have made in cancer research. We're also proud of the results showing that researchers are delivering on that investment."

But researchers still worry. They worry cuts will undermine their successes. They feel like the rug is being pulled out from under them, just as they are making significant progress. They suspect 95 clinical trials could be postponed or cancelled, 3,000 patients could miss the opportunity of joining a trial, and some cancers will be completely eliminated from studies.

"There is a real cost in human life," says Allen Lichter, executive vice president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, of the more-than-monetary toll budget cuts will take on NCI research efforts.

One study already on hold, pending funding decisions, is the next phase of a study evaluating whether a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, can prevent breast cancer. Another research group has opted to stop studying brain tumors. This is a huge loss to patients with this type of cancer, says Lichter.

It's a huge loss to all of us really -- because cancer will affect each of us in some way, some day. And so with cut budgets come cut hopes, cut dreams, and sadly -- cut survival.

Lance Armstrong means business. He says his new race is finding a cure for a disease that kills 600,000 people a year. Lance is a ten year testicular cancer survivor and was diagnosed at the age of 25.

Yesterday, Lance urged Iowans to support a presidential candidate who's dedicated to expanding cancer research. In a speech to 1,500 guests of the Greater Des Moines Partnership's annual dinner, the seven time Tour de France Champion described the power Iowa holds as the nation's lead-off state in the presidential nominating process.

"The cancer question has to be asked, and it has to be on the agenda for the most powerful man in the world", Armstrong said.

Go Lance!

At the age of 93, former President Gerald R. Ford had become our longest living former president. As the nation mourns the passing of former President Ford, who died Tuesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, he is being remembered as a great healer of the nation in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. At the time he pardoned former President Nixon, he was questioned and criticized for the wisdom of that action. In retrospect, his decision was credited for helping the nation move forward and heal.

Recovered alcoholic and breast cancer survivor Betty Ford is known for being a healer for the people of this nation in her own right. She willingly battled her most private demons and medical challenges openly, breaking the rules by speaking publicly about struggles society deemed private matters best kept quiet and spoken of only in whispers behind closed doors.

"It's hard for anyone born perhaps after 1980 or even in 1970 to understand that these things were not talked about," said Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of the division of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "They were very stigmatizing. A woman didn't dare to mention to her friends, employer, extended family, that she had breast cancer."

Betty is credited with the successful launch of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by attending the first luncheon. Nancy G. Brinker, founder of the foundation, has said of Betty Ford, "If she had not come, we would never have been able to launch. I don't think young women today realize the importance of what she did -- she lit the candle in dark rooms all over the world in healthcare and substance abuse and human understanding."

History will record that both former President Gerald R. Ford and former First lady Betty Ford were profound healers, in courage, compassion and wisdom.

Although it was not revealed at the time, first lady Laura Bush was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in October, and underwent a surgical procedure to have the cancerous tumor removed from her shin shortly before the elections on November 7th. When the first lady's press secretary Susan Whitson was asked why the information about Mrs. Bush's cancer diagnosis was withheld from the public, she responded by saying, "This medical procedure was a private matter for Mrs. Bush, but when asked by the media today, we answered the question."

In 2001, President Bush had four suspicious facial lesions surgically removed that can lead to cancer if left untreated. At the time, they had not progressed into cancer.

Mrs. Bush is reported to be doing well, and is optimistic that the cancer was discovered early.

According to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, squamous cell skin cancer is a type of tumor that affects the middle layer of the skin. Over 90 percent of skin cancers occur on areas of the skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation. Squamous cell cancer is a malignancy that is more aggressive than basal cell cancer, but still may be relatively slow-growing.

Ronnie Lippin, long-time publicist and manager who helped shape the careers of rock stars Eric Clapton, Brian Wilson, and Prince, died Monday from a rare form of breast cancer. She was 59 years old.

Lippin began her career in the New York film and stage industry and migrated to music when she moved to Los Angeles with her husband, Dick Lippin. She worked for MCA Records, with Elton John's Rocket Records, and with RSO Records -- home of the Bee Gees and the Grease and Saturday Night Fever soundtracks -- where she became a top publicist. In 1989, she joined the marketing and public relations Lippin Group, founded by her husband. At the time of her death, she was president of the Lippin Group.

Lippin is survived by her husband and a daughter, who also works for the Lippin Group.