Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, hospitalized on Wednesday with a fever, is doing better and should be discharged within the next few days, according to his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani.

The 71-year-old tenor underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer one year ago and has since endured at least five rounds of chemotherapy. Although not confirmed, some sources say Pavarotti has pneumonia.

It was all about the bike for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards this past Wednesday. Decked out in spandex bike shorts, he pedaled with champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong on the Register's Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Riding at an easy pace of 10 to 12 mph from Hampton to Cedar Falls, Edwards chatted with riders about their pressing issues, including their concern for his wife Elizabeth who was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer this year.

About his bike trek, Edwards commented, "This is an accident waiting to happen."

Why did he take on the challenge? "Lance has become a friend," Edwards said. " Proud of what he's doing, particularly on the cancer issue. It's obviously very important to us personally. And I've heard about this race -- err, race -- this ride, ever since I'd been coming to Iowa so I wanted to see what it looked like."

My husband heard this song yesterday on the radio and I wanted to share the lyrics. You can listen to Craig Morgan here singing Tough.

She's in the kitchen at the crack of dawn
Bacon's on, coffee's strong
Kids running wild, taking off their clothes
If shes a nervous wreck, well it never shows
Takes one to football and one to dance
Hits the Y for aerobics class
Drops by the bank, stops at the store
Has on a smile when I walk through the door
The last to go to bed, she'll be the first one up
And I thought I was tough

Chorus
She's strong, pushes on, can't slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough

We sat there five years ago
The doctors let us know
She'd have to fight to live, I broke down and cried
She held me and said it's gonna be alright
She wore that wig to church
Pink ribbon pinned there on her shirt
No room for fear, full of faith
Hands held high singing Amazing Grace
Never once complained, refusing to give up
And I thought I was tough

Chorus
She's strong, pushes on, can't slow her down
She can take anything life dishes out
There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough

She's a gentle word, the sweetest kiss
A velvet touch against my skin
I've seen her cry, I've seen her break
But in my eyes, she'll always be strong

There was a time
Back before she was mine
When I thought I was tough

Presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth will appear tonight on 60 Minutes where they will publicly discuss with Katie Couric Elizabeth's newest cancer diagnosis and their decision to continue on in the presidential race.

Elizabeth, 57 and first diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2004, shared Thursday that her cancer has returned, this time in her bones. Considered stage four and treatable -- but not curable -- her cancer has generated much discussion and awareness about the workings of this life-threatening disease.

To view a clip from tonight's news program, airing at 7:00 PM ET/PT, click here.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has had many routine medical follow-ups since her 2004 breast cancer diagnosis. And all of them -- until just a few days ago -- resulted in what is generally termed a clean bill of health.

The term doesn't always come with a sense of relief for those of us surviving breast cancer -- or any cancer for that matter -- because it only really defines what our bodies are telling us at one specific moment. There are no magic blood tests, no special body scans, no conclusive ways of determining whether or not cancerous cells have gone astray and will one day surface again.

I asked my oncologist after my first six-month follow-up how he would know if my cancer returns. He told me it's really up to me to determine whether it comes back. It's up to me to get mammograms and ultrasounds and MRIs. It's up to me to report any symptoms and suspicions. It's up to me to track my general well-being so that it will be clear when something feels not-so-right. If I have a persistent cough or headaches that won't subside, my doctor will take action with X-rays and scans and tests. But as long as I feel fine and nothing troubling presents itself, then I remain in the clean-bill-of-health club.

Edwards no longer has a clean bill of health. But she is determined to use her newest diagnosis -- stage four metastatic cancer of the bones, considered treatable but not curable -- to work toward the best health she can acquire for as long as she can hold onto it. And that is about as good as any of us can do.

Democratic presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator John Edwards missed an Iowa campaign event on Tuesday so he could be with his wife as she prepared for a medical appointment the following morning.

Elizabeth Edwards, diagnosed with breast cancer just before the 2004 election, when her husband ran for vice president, has survived chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation and has written a book -- Saving Graces -- about her entire journey.

Edwards' campaign crew has insisted Wednesday's appointment was a routine follow-up to a medical visit his wife had the day before and that Elizabeth Edwards, 57, has been living cancer-free.

Today at noon, Edwards will hold a press conference about his wife's health and how it may -- or may not -- affect his candidacy.

Today I offer you not so much a Thought for the Day but a Question for the Day. Before I ask my pressing question, though, I want you to consider this story.

Diagnosed with a rare malignant melanoma on her retina in 2001, Ann Guthrie, a South Carolina wife and mother of two grown sons, endured radiation and chemotherapy. The treatments shrunk Guthrie's tumor, but another mass appeared two years later, forcing the removal of her right eye.

At about the same time Guthrie lost her eye, cancer was discovered in her lungs. It was inoperable. Then cancer landed in her brain. And now, without any approved treatment avenues, Guthrie is out of options.

Like many people with terminal illnesses, this woman is willing to try just about anything -- a clinical trial, experimental drugs, risky treatments -- to extend her life. If she's going to die anyway, why not? She just might live longer. And if she doesn't, she could at least help advance science by offering herself up as a sort of guinea pig.

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed changes that would make it easier for patients to access options like these, it's just not that simple right now.

There are ethical issues -- like weighing the needs of people who think anything is better than death against the need of society to prove drugs and treatments work safely. The only way to ensure a sort of balance is through clinical trials -- and letting anyone participate in clinical trials, for example, would make the results harder to interpret.

And there are medical and legal risks. What if terminally ill patients end up in worse shape after a treatment with an experimental drug, for example? What if the FDA or a physician is considered responsible for adverse drug reactions?

Denying terminal patients their last bits of hope is difficult. "It's a hard discussion to have with a patient and his family," says one doctor. "There's a lot of tears. We all would love to be able to get them access to some form of therapy."

And now for my question:

What do you think about terminally ill cancer patients and their access to anything that might extend -- or save -- their lives?

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.

On February 4, Jennifer Ireland, a young wife and mother of two small daughters, took her last breath after a courageous battle with colon cancer. And today, February 14 -- a day reserved for all things love inspired -- you are invited to take part in a live Kansas City, Missouri benefit in honor of this lovely woman.

Join the live webcast of Film Clips -- a celebration of Mairtin de Cogain's soon-to-be-released American film The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Not only a celebration of film, this event will also feature the clipping of every strand of Mairtin de Cogain's hair -- and beard too. Attendees can claim a lock with a donation of $10 that will head straight to the Jennifer Ireland Fund. It all happens between the hours of 11:00 and 2:00 PM on this St. Valentine's Day.

There is so much more to say about Jennifer -- and she and her husband powerfully say it all on the blog they authored throughout their harrowing yet moving journey.

United States Representative Charles Norwood, who left Washington last week to enter into the care of hospice, died yesterday at his home after battling cancer and lung disease. He was 65.

Norwood, whose passing prompted the House to observe a moment of silence Tuesday in his honor, suffered since 1998 from chronic lung disease and later metastatic cancer that spread from his lungs to his liver. Last week, he announced he would no longer accept treatment, that he would allow hospice to care for him for the remainder of his days.

A dentist from Augusta, Georgia, Norwood was the first Republican to represent northeastern Georgia since the Civil War. A conservative passionately opposed to government bureaucracy and adamantly supportive of patients' rights, he hoped to one day become Georgia's first Republican Governor.

Norwood's medical decline began when his lung condition -- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis -- began restricting his ability to breathe and necessitated a lung transplant in 2004.

Known for zipping around the Capitol with a motorized cart and oxygen tank, Norwood developed cancer on his non-transplanted lung reportedly due to the immune suppression drugs he took after his transplant. And although his cancer was surgically removed and his health did improve, doctors learned this past November his cancer had spread.

The vacancy left by Norwood's death will not be filled immediately due to governmental process. In Georgia, within 10 days of the seat being vacated, the governor must request a special election to the secretary of state. And the election must be held no fewer than 30 days later.

Norwood is survived by his wife, Gloria; two sons, Charles and Carlton; and four grandchildren.

When she asked her teenage daughters whether or not she should accept the American Cancer Society's Mother of the Year award, the response was a resounding, "Mom, of course." So Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, accepted the anti-cancer honor this week and told ABC's George Stephanopolous on Sunday why she is a good mom and a healthy role model.

"They see that I go running, I get on my bicycle, I do yoga, pilates, whatever else I do," Ferguson said. "Do you know what they do? Get up off the sofa, turn the television off, walk to work, walk around the block, more vegetables, more fruits at school, less soda pops, less fast food."

Ferguson, 47, says cancer prevention starts with good role modeling -- which is exactly what she has done as mom to princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

"I can safely say one of the best things I've done is be a good mother," Ferguson said.

Ferguson, author of memoir My Story and spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, first became known as the wife of Britain's Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. The pair divorced in 1996, but Ferguson's positive public persona has remained untarnished.

I just finished reading the words of Mark Raymond Clements -- and the words of his wife, Marianne, written when Mark was too ill to comment. I am overcome and overwhelmed with emotion because each string of sentences filling the pages of the Clements family homepage has touched me, inspired me, and saddened me all at the same time.

Clements was diagnosed in October 2005 with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct normally found in people in their 70s.

"There is no known cure," writes Clements. "It does not respond well to chemotherapy. It is fast moving."

And fast moving it was. Surgery -- rarely a good option for this cancer -- was attempted but without success.

"After they opened him up, they discovered that the cancer had just spread too far," Marianne writes. "They closed him back up."

Chemotherapy came next and while there were some hopeful moments -- "overall distribution of the disease has decreased" -- the overwhelming course of Clement's disease continued on a fast track. And by June 2006, Clements realized, "the cruel reality of CANCER hits like a brick wall," when a CT scan revealed the presence of as many as 20 new tumors in his liver.

The Clements family never abandoned hope and were steadfast in their faith as cancer continued to dominate their lives. In October -- one year after diagnosis -- when Marianne believed doctors were sending a let's make you as comfortable as we can message, the family began pursuing alternative methods. But by December, when it had become clear treatment of any kind would no longer help, Mark Clements was welcomed by the loving arms of hospice -- where he remained until he passed away on January, 19, 2007. He was 40 years old.

On the very day of her husband's death, Marianne writes, "I know I am not alone in feeling complete anguish at this time. I know it will lessen over time. I know I will not understand 'why' until I'm with him again, but what I do know is that Mark loved me. He loved his children. He loved his family and friends. He will be waiting for me with our loving Father in Heaven. And we will be together again. Our Father in Heaven is aware of our pain and will comfort us still as he has through this past year."

And these are just some of the words that have has touched me, inspired me, and saddened me all at the same time.

Men Bleed Too is a story written by Thomas Brown. Thomas kept a journal and recorded his wife Barbara's journey through breast cancer, starting in December of 1992, after a cancerous tumor was found in Barbara's right breast.

This book, compiled from the journal entries that captured Thomas's life while going through breast cancer with his wife, provides basic information to help the male caretaker though the process and journey of dealing with a loved one diagnosed with cancer. He talks about medical decisions, care management, medications, treatments prescribed, and the emotional roller coaster of feelings he had when confronted with bad or good news.

This book can give the caregiver of someone diagnosed with cancer a feeling that they are not alone in the daily issues they have to face.

Sadly, Barbara died two years after fighting the disease.

Thomas has since married Connie, who encouraged him to turn his journals into a book. He is also at work on his second book entitled She Taught Me How to Laugh Again. In this story he relates how he and Connie met, helped each other through the grieving process and moved forward with their lives.

Michael Brecker, Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist who performed with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock, died Saturday of cancer. He was 57.

Brecker, considered one of the most influential saxophonists of the past 25 years, died at a hospital in New York City as a result of myelodysplastic syndrome -- a form of cancer in which the bone marrow stops making healthy blood cells.

The Philadelphia native, who began his solo career in 1987 with a self-titled debut recording that turned into Jazz Album of the Year, was forced by his illness to stop playing music at times. So he channeled his creative efforts into raising awareness of a very important cause -- bone marrow donation.

Brecker is survived by his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; a brother and a sister.

Magnus Magnusson, former host of the BBC quiz show Mastermind, died just days ago after a four-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He died peacefully at his Glasgow home at the age of 77.