This morning I attended the kickoff breakfast for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk being held October, 28th in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a noncompetitive walk to help fight breast cancer and provide hope to people facing the disease. Your participation will support the American Cancer Society's lifesaving research, prevention, early detection, and support programs for thousands of patients and their families.

I learned today that Making Strides is more than just a walk -- it is the amazing progress that is being made to defeat breast cancer. This is truly an inspiring event!

Check out Making Strides for Breast Cancer walks in your area -- here.

Yesterday I visited the High Points Monument at High Point State Park. It was a fitting day to visit the monument -- Memorial Day. The monument was built and dedicated to the memory of New Jersey's wartime heros. Construction was started in 1928 and completed in 1930.

My husband and I climbed the stairs up the 220- foot structure for a breathtaking view of the ridges of the Pocono Mountains, the Catskill Mountains and the Wallkill River Valley.

The high points in my life can come unexpectedly. I think we should all think about what the high points in our lives have been and cherish the memories. A camping trip in an RV, my husband and two dogs this weekend was definitely a high point in my life. High points don't have to be something monumental -- no pun intended. High points can be small things that make the day a joyful one.

Find as many high points in your life as you can.

This past mothers day weekend I attended the Shirley Mae Run & Gilda's Club Walk held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a beautiful Saturday to take a stroll on the boardwalk. My dad flew in from Arizona for the event and my mom drove from Philadelphia. I'm very lucky that my parents are so supportive.

The Shirley Mae Breast Cancer Assistance Fund was started by Roy Goldberg to honor his mother, Shirley Mae, who survived breast cancer. The fund assists breast cancer patients in the south-eastern area of New Jersey with the cost of medicine, wigs, prostheses, and anything else needed to relieve financial stress so they can focus on healing and becoming survivors too.

Oh no. I think I 'm headed for melanoma. At the very least, I seem to have a very high risk for developing the disease, thanks to my once-stubborn pursuit of a silly tan.

Think about this:

A review of seven different studies concludes that using a tanning bed under the age of 35 -- I'm so guilty -- can increase the risk of melanoma by 75 percent. Even those who have ever used indoor tanning were 15 percent more likely to develop the disease.

We're talking the deadliest form of skin cancer here. So deadly some experts are recommending strong measures to restrict the use of tanning beds by young people. Adults should be discouraged from tanning, some say, but access should be limited for those under the age of 18.

New Jersey already has regulations in place -- those under 14 are banned from tanning salons and anyone between 14 and 18 must have parental consent.

If I could turn back time, I would listen to my grandma. She told me the sun -- and tanning beds too -- were no good. But I was young. And I didn't care.

Now I'm older. And I care. But it may be too late. It seems this could be one lesson I learn the hard way.

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.

He was an Emmy-winning television writer who helped create the animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show. He contributed satire, wordplay, and puns for the Rocky and His Friends cartoon, later renamed The Bullwinkle Show. He also helped create The Munsters and in 1968, he won an Emmy for his work on the CBS sitcom He & She.

He is Chris Hayward and on November 20 -- at the age of 81 -- he died at his Beverly Hills home. Cancer was the cause.

Hayward was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. At age 17, he moved to Los Angeles where he studied scriptwriting and entered the world of television. His accomplishments include his work on Crusader Rabbit -- the first cartoon show created for television -- as well as Get Smart, My Mother the Car, and Barney Miller.

Hayward is survived by his wife and three children -- Laurel, Victoria, and Tony -- from a previous marriage.

The state of New Jersey outpaces the nation in survival of ovarian cancer -- but it lags behind when it comes to surviving endometrial, cervical, skin, mouth, and brain cancers.

New Jerseyans are still surviving cancer. But a report issued Tuesday reveals the state survival rate -- for some reason -- trails the national rate.

The difference between the state and national rates is not large -- about three percentage points separate the two -- but the racial disparity appears more significant. Survival rates for white men and women are about 10 percentage points higher than those for black men and women. This is similar to the national racial gap.

It's likely racial differences are due to later detection, later diagnosis, and less access to treatment and support services.

New Jersey survival rates also vary greatly by type of cancer, sex, and age.

This past week saw the launch of a first-ever partnership between Ford and ABC's The View. As part of Ford's Warriors in Pink initiative -- a campaign to get women everywhere to join the battle against breast cancer -- the co-hosts of The View during the month of October will feature Warriors sharing their personal stories of support and commitment in the fight against breast cancer.

On September 12, The View's call out for Warriors began online at abc.com
(keyword: theview) where viewers are asked to submit stories about the breast cancer Warriors in their lives. Then each week in October -- Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- a different Warrior will be selected to appear on the show.

Also part of the show will be an audience give-away, featuring merchandise from Ford's Warrior collection. Beginning October 2, viewers will have the chance to purchase a limited edition The View/Warrior coffee mug -- the same mug The View co-hosts will sip from to remind audience members about the importance of breast cancer awareness and early detection. All proceeds will go directly to the Komen Foundation. And on October 29, co-host Rosie O'Donnell -- who lost her mother to breast cancer and is herself a Warrior -- will attend the Race for the Cure event in Princeton, New Jersey.

Ford's Warriors in Pink campaign raises funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through the sale of clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. One hundred percent of the net proceeds benefit the Komen Foundation. Over the past 12 years, Ford has contributed $87 million in gifts and donations to this life-saving venture.
Warriors in Pink merchandise is available not just during the month of October but year-round at www.fordcares.com.