What if the lab results thought to be our own really were not? Hey, mistakes happen in all walks of life. And labs are not immune. But there are a few steps we can take to protect ourselves. Here they are:

• Ask your doctor about the lab he or she uses. It should be accredited and approved by the College of American Pathologists, a sign the lab meets high standards.
  
  
• If you can see the test tube or slide, make sure your name is on it. If you are in the hospital, make sure your wristband is accurate.

H.E.A.R.D. stands for Hemangioedothelioma, Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma (EHE), And Related vascular Disorders.

It is a support group established in 2004 to help these rare diseases. Hemangioendothelioma (HE) is the name for a composite group of vascular cancers, which can involve soft tissue, bone, skin, liver, lymph nodes and/or the lungs.

Due to the rarity of Hemangioendothelioma, it is preferable for patients to seek a sarcoma specialist for treatment.

There are only about twenty cases diagnosed each year of HE. The H.E.A.R.D support group has been able to locate about 120 people around the world who have this disease.

The members of this unique group tell us on the website:

Together, our voices will be HEARD!

Telling your doctor or nurse about pain is not a sign of weakness and you should not accept pain as a normal part of having cancer. You have a right as a cancer patient who is experiencing pain to ask for pain relief. When you are free of pain, you can sleep and eat better, enjoy the company of those around you, and can continue on with work and hobbies.

If your doctor suggests no other options to reduce your pain after discussing it with him, then ask to see a pain specialist or ask your doctor to consult with a pain specialist which may be an oncologist, anesthesiologist, neurologist, or neurosurgeon.

Use a pain scale when talking with your doctor. For example, your pain might be 5 on a scale of 0 to 10. Other important factors you should discuss with your doctor include ...

Some mechanism has been at work in my body for the past month, some sort of filter that has somehow warded off the crippling panic that typically overcomes me during health scares. It's the panic that allows me to turn a simple cough into a symptom of lung cancer, a stomach pain into a sign of ovarian cancer. It's the curse of surviving cancer, I guess -- the continual worry that the disease is coming back, that it is going to strike someone dear to me.

Yet cancer never entered my mind when my husband and I began noticing our three-year-old Danny's strange eye movements, the strikingly odd manner in which one eye rolls upward when he gazes toward the ceiling -- this is normal -- while the other only crosses -- this is not normal. Surprisingly, I was not overly worried about this and was sure it was something that with glasses or eye exercises could be fixed. Never did I fear cancer.

We started with our pediatrician who quickly knew this issue was out of his league. I was calm. He moved us on to a pediatric eye specialist who was stumped by these eye movements that are typically congenital and occur much earlier in life. If not congenital, it must be something acquired, this doctor told us. He looked around a bit at Danny's eyes, dilated his pupils, and tested his vision. He determined his eyesight is perfect. And his gaze is a complete mystery. He ordered an MRI.

Still I was okay -- until my husband shared one evening with me that he was worried about a tumor. Why I hadn't yet obsessed about this is its own mystery, for which I am thankful. It allowed me to function for a short time independent of fear and anxiety and only a short time ago did I let panic seep into my consciousness.

When I scheduled the MRI for Danny and was told it was an urgent case that must be scheduled quickly, my stomach sank. When the doctor who would read the MRI met with us this morning to talk about this diagnostic procedure, he shared that a mass is what they would be looking for. I'm not sure how for all these weeks I missed this opportunity to get all worked up. But I did. And I got to act like a normal worried mother, not an over-the-top this must be cancer obsessed mother. It felt good.

And it felt good when the doctor read the MRI right in front of us this morning, sharing that there is no mass. He was not able to share what is causing this mystery eye condition that still must be investigated, but he assured us it's nothing serious, nothing life-threatening, nothing like cancer.

Perhaps the fact that my handful of recent health scares have not resulted in malignancies is allowing me to cool my guns a bit, to relax, to realize that not everything comes with a worst-case-scenario result. So maybe -- just maybe -- I am approaching some normalcy in my life, two years after my own worst-case-scenario sent me on the most terrifying ride of my life.

Adriene Hughes was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after her 44th year of living. She found her lump after participating in a 5K walk, which for some reason, caused her breast to swell. The swelling led her to the lump -- and that's how she discovered her cancer. Adriene lives in Southern California, works as a media specialist, and spends her time taking photographs, knitting, and baking cookies and breads.

I have never met Adriene, have never spoken with Adriene. But we have communicated through our on-line journals and through e-mail ever since November 2004 -- when we each received a breast cancer diagnosis that changed the course of our lives forever.

Adriene is a gem, a treasure, a true inspiration. And here are her words.

According to Breast Cancer UK, maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of developing cancer. The organization is featuring the efforts of three women and one man as they chronicle their progress in the Ten Top Tips ten week weight loss program.

Led by specialist dietician Weight Concern Alison Chipperfield, the four volunteers Liz Ainsworth, Emma Russell, Stacey Delaney and Mike Chapman will share the personal efforts of losing weight with diet and lifestyle changes in reaching a greater level of health. To follow the weekly updates, visit Ten Top Tips Reduce the Risk.

Cancer Research UK also features a Healthy Eating area of the organization's website highlighting comprehensive information and resources in cancer prevention through diet and healthy eating tips.

According to Cancer Research UK, "Experts think that about a quarter of all cancer deaths are caused by unhealthy diets and obesity. Our diet influences our risk of many cancers, including cancers of the colon, stomach, and breast. You can reduce your cancer risk by eating a healthy, balanced diet that is high in fiber, fruit and vegetables, and low in red and processed meat and saturated fat."

Through support in funding, Cancer Research UK is involved in the EPIC study. The study -- called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) -- is an enormous undertaking involving 521,483 individuals in 10 different European countries. EPIC is unique because the populations being tracked are so diverse in eating habits. But this is precisely what gives the study the advantage it has in making comparisons and noting trends.

The Lung Cancer Alliance -- the only national non-profit organization dedicated entirely to lung cancer patient support and advocacy -- asked pulmonary clinical nurse specialist Donna Wilson to help educate the lung cancer community about healthy breathing. Wilson agreed and her breathing tips, available on podcast, are intended to relieve shortness of breath related to pain or activity. Her three breathing techniques -- detailed here -- are simple, easy-to-understand, and truly relaxing.

Before beginning this series of breathing exercises, stop whatever you are doing and sit down or lean against a wall.

• Place chin to your chest to relax your neck muscles. Breathe 10 short bursts of air in and out of your lips. As you expel air, neck and chest muscles should relax.
• Place chin to your chest. Breathe three times in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Place chin to your chest. Close your mouth, and breathe four times in and out only through your nose.
  

After completing these exercises, lift your head, breathe normally, and let your shoulders relax. In a few minutes, your entire body should start to relax -- and shortness of breath will resolve.

I don't have lung cancer -- but I do have moments of anxiety and panic. So I plan to save these tips. And I plan to use them. And I plan to share them. Because we all can benefit from a dose of relaxation.

Husband and wife team -- Dr. Tyler Curiel and Dr. Ruth Berggren -- prepare to relocate to San Antonio, Texas and will leave behind the city torn apart by Hurricane Katrina -- the same city where they worked tirelessly in 100-plus degree heat to rescue frozen cells and tissue from destruction during a storm that destroyed nearly everything in its path. They worked for one week caring for trapped patients at the inner city Charity Hospital, using diminishing generator power and the very basic of supplies. And they worked by flashlight to preserve their temperature-sensitive cells -- the cells that made up most of their life's work. They were successful in their mission -- and happily saved the cells of one of Curiel's medical students who once worked in his lab but died in 2004 of a rare cancer.

In September, the duo will leave New Orleans and will begin work at a nationally recognized cancer center -- the San Antonio Cancer Institue. Curiel will share his expertise in gynecological cancers -- specifically ovarian cancer -- and Berggren will join the health science center as an infectious disease specialist.

Diana Dyer was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, when she was six months old. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34. She was diagnosed with a second breast cancer ten years after the first. Each cancer was treated by conventional medicine and included combinations of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. But because her cancer kept returning, Diana realized that for her, something other then treatment was necessary to sustain her through a long life. So she considered a healthy recipe for living -- a blend of traditional medicine and alternative methods too -- and she implemented a holistic approach to healing into her personal world. She has not had a recurrence since 1995 -- and she credits this to the changes she's made in her life. She has tipped the scales in her favor, she believes, and she shares her approach with others who want to begin a journey toward recovery and healing after cancer.