After several weeks of hiding and down time, a few weeks ago I made an official announcement to the non profit organization that I founded Indie Music For Life and its two entities Laughs For Life and Indiegrrl. I dropped off of this blog page for a month and am ready to write again. I needed a break. A break to sort through things. To sort through life.

When you or a loved one are diagnosed with cancer it changes your life. Finding out you have cancer takes your breath away and from that point your breath is the most valuable thing to you in your life. Breath and time. Nothing is normal any more. Not your dreams, your nightmares, and not your waking moments.

A personal diagnosis of chronic myloid leukemia in February sent me into a whirlwind of emotions. At that point, all the fear, terror, and stomach knots from my past rounds of cancer came back. Nobody free of cancer could ever appreciate how utterly devastating the news of contracting it could be and the news that it has returned is even more devastating because you know what uphill climbs you must make again. Once you have been diagnosed with cancer you always look over your shoulder for the beast to return. He has caught up with me several times now and so I am speeding up in my race trying to see who is the best long distance runner. Every ache you feel or every little un-ordinary thing that happens with your body sends you into " What If " mode. It is extremely hard living in that mode of thinking but you can't avoid it.

My past struggles with cancer were very private. But then I was not the head of a non profit organization that raises money for cancer research and educational awareness on the powers of music and laughter as therapy for cancer patients. I wasn't the head of the largest networking group of female songwriters known as Indiegrrl that has since become a part of Indie Music for Life. Laughs For Life had not even been thought of yet and now with the direction and help of good friend and comedian Shelly Ryan it is now a reality. I hadn't even started my music career. Having cancer is what lead me to pursue my career in music and chase my dreams. It wasn't until I started working on my CDs that my cancer became really public other than with my close friends and family and then working to set up the Indie Music For Life non profit put it out there even more.

Patrick Dempsey may play a doctor on television's Grey's Anatomy but in real life, he is much like all of us -- especially when it comes to caring for a loved one with cancer.

Dempsey's mother had cancer, received treatment for the disease, and has been surviving for nine years. Yet memories of the journey, and the overwhelming process of it all, are fresh in his mind.

"It's overwhelming because it's like, there's too many options sometimes," Dempsey said. "It's like, well, why should I believe the doctors? Shouldn't I get a second opinion? Shouldn't I find a specialist?"

Dempsey recalls feeling naive and childlike and powerless in many ways. And now, partnering with Breakaway from Cancer -- a support initiative founded in 2005 -- he is helping others take control of life with cancer.

"You need a support system in to encourage you, to get you up and out of bed in the morning," Dempsey said.

Sarita Zouvas knows what it's like to have a child in the hospital. Her daughter, Isabella -- who died while receiving treatment for cancer -- spent many days in the hospital, and Zouvas says it's hard to anticipate what items from home will make a child's stay more comfortable.

"We don't go prepared," she says. "You don't take clothes; you don't know what's going on. You get there and they put a gown on them. My first response is, 'I want to make them comfortable because they're scared.'"

Zouvas has found a way to bring comfort to the lives of children at her local Children's Hospital. And her goal is to make sure every child admitted to the hospital during the holiday season gets a complimentary pair of pajamas.

After the death of her daughter, Zouvas became involved with the Friends of Scott Foundation (FSF) -- a non-profit organization founded in memory of Scott Delgadillo who lost his life to childhood cancer. FSF strives to help children with cancer and their families with emotional and financial support in order to cope with this devastating disease. Zouvas became a part of the FSF support team and is thrilled she can help bring comfy jammies to sick children.

Zouvas says the response to her call for help has been overwhelming. Most pajamas are donated and have come from as far away as Boston. Employees of the San Diego Padres, Southwest Airlines, and the district attorney's office have also helped Zouvas in the endeavor she hopes will continue year-round.

For more information on the Friends of Scott Foundation and Zouvas' pajama drive, click here.

Lung cancer affects more than 80,000 American women annually. More than 70,000 of these cases are fatal. Thirty thousand more women die from lung cancer than from breast cancer. And lung cancer claims more lives of more women than breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers combined. Yet a new study reveals that American women are uninformed about statistics like these -- and about the threats posed by lung cancer.

A 2006 survey of 500 women provides a snapshot of women's attitudes and beliefs about lung cancer -- and the overwhelming conclusion is that there is a widespread lack of awareness about the nation's top cancer killer. And here's the lowdown:

• Only 41 percent of women know that lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States.
• Only 8 percent of women know that exposure to radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer -- 60 percent instead believe that second-hand smoke is the culprit.
• Only 36 percent of women know lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer.
• Only 41 percent of women know that one in 17 women will develop lung cancer sometime in her life.
• Only 4 percent of women know that women typically fare better than men following lung cancer treatment.
• And 25 percent of women mistakingly believe that there is a standard screening test to detect lung cancer in its early stages. Currently, there is not one.

Lung cancer is often believed to be a man's disease. But it is not. It affects tens of thousands of women too. And now I -- as one of the previously uninformed women -- know better.

One of the first recommendations I received after my cancer diagnosis was this -- write everything down. I was told to write down dates and times of appointments, results of tests, names and doses of medications, all procedures and protocols, every question that popped into my mind, and the general gist of what doctors and assistants and nurses and technicians told me.

Because the stuff that comes with a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming and confusing and disorienting -- and writing it all down can help manage the chaos of it all.