I'm a fan of journaling and over the years, I've done lots of it. I've mostly journaled my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, though. I'm thinking I need to start journaling my symptoms.

I'm always at a loss when I finally talk to a doctor about symptoms. "How long have you felt like this?" my doctor might say. "Oh, I don't know, maybe a few days," would be a typical response."

Once I've been sick for a few days, the timing and longevity of my symptoms just blur into one another. But they really are important and tracking them in writing can help chart the course for diagnosis, especially when it comes to disease. Take ovarian cancer. Symptoms can include bloating, pressure, even pelvic and abdominal pain, all of which may seem pretty benign if temporary. But jot them down -- be sure to include dates of occurrence -- and you may see that trends begin to surface.

PSA tests are a recommended way to screen for prostate cancer, however the test is not very precise. Too much PSA, prostate-specific antigen, in a man's blood can indicate that he has either a benign enlarged prostate or cancer. Only a biopsy can tell the difference.

A new study suggests that physicians should monitor not only the number of the PSA test but also the trend of the results. In other words, if the blood test shows a jump by a few points, even though the number is still in normal range, it could be a sign that the patient has prostate cancer.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggests evaluating how fast a man's PSA level rises may help that tricky balancing act of when to biopsy and how aggressive to treat.

What does that mean for men today? That its a good idea to order a biopsy for a man with a low but fast-rising PSA.

Celebrities catch our attention. They cause us to pay attention too -- which is likely why the media uses celebrities and prominent people to send messages about all sorts of issues, like breast cancer.

It's not just the real-life survivor celebrity stories -- about Melissa Etheridge and Elizabeth Edwards and Sheryl Crow -- that make headlines and attract ratings. It's also the portrayal of cancer survivors on television that raises awareness about this disease. It's not a new trend -- it started long ago when All in the Family's Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) experienced a breast cancer scare, marking one of the first times the issue of breast cancer was discussed openly on TV.

Tough cop Mary Beth Lacey (Tyne Daly) of the TV show Cagney & Lacey traveled a breast cancer journey. Sisters eldest sister Alex (Swoosie Kurtz) was diagnosed with breast cancer and survived chemotherapy with family by her side. Beverly Hills, 90210 character Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) found a lump in her breast and shed light on the fact that young women are not immune to breast cancer. Sex and the City's Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) developed breast cancer and proudly pulled off her wig on television. The L Word's Dana Fairbanks (Erin Daniels) lost her battle with breast cancer. And on Angela's Eyes, FBI agent Angela Henson recently learned her mother once had breast cancer -- and that it has come back.

There are many others television story lines woven with the thread of breast cancer. They draw viewers and boost ratings. They also raise awareness -- because people pay attention to celebrities.

In a trendy dash for style, we welcome the newest blog to the network -- StyleDash. Whether your interests lean towards fashion, food or home decorating, StyleDash bloggers are talking about it.

StyleDash features retro to cutting edge trends in accessories, coiffure, cosmetics, eyewear, home style, jewelry, soaps & salves, foods and much more. It's a place. An event. A state of mind. An attitude.

And as every perfect host knows, when you invite a guest, you have graciously prepared something special to greet them on their arrival.

StyleDash is the perfect host. Enter a contest to win a designer handbag or book tote -- just for showing up! What are you waiting for? Have some fun, discover cool, or just read trend buzz -- it's all good. We will be right here when you get back. Promise.

An announcement last Wednesday revealed an overall decline in cancer death rates -- probably due to reduced exposure to tobacco, early detection, and better treatment. But the announcement also revealed a surprising jump in cases of thyroid cancer for women.

Between the years 1981 and 1993, incidence rates among women climbed 2.2 percent each year. Between the years 1993 and 2000, they rose 4.6 percent per year. And between 2000 and 2003, there was a 9.1 percent increase each year. This could be a result of better diagnosis but scientists are wondering if there is an unknown risk factor contributing to this startling finding. And it will take at least two more years to determine whether this is a random fluctuation or a true trend. The rate of thyroid cancer in men has also increased but not as much as for women.

The silver lining in this cancer cloud is that trends -- such as those showing increases in cancer incidences and death rates -- often fuel the fight against cancer because researchers are alerted to look for causes which ultimately results in better detection and better prevention.

For fitness, the practice of yoga promotes balance, flexibility and strength. America loves yoga, according to a survey conducted by the Yoga Journal. The top four reasons given for the interest in yoga were: flexibility, stress reduction, strength, fitness and conditioning. As yoga grows in popularity, it is also becoming Americanized, and there are a number of hybrid yoga practices springing up like: Acu-yoga, Yogilates, Disco Yoga, Hip-Hop Yoga, Punk Rock Yoga, Aqua Yoga, Doga (with your dog), Yoganetics, Soul FlowYoga, Freestyle Vinyasa Flow, Sonic Yoga, Yogic Arts (yoga combined with martial arts) and Nude Yoga -- which is a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on who you are asking.

Of the survey participants who were asked , these were the top four good/bad statements made to the increasing popularity of yoga in this country:

• "Americans need to recognize that practicing yoga doesn't conflict with mainstream religious values."
• "The commercialization of yoga is a good thing. It attracts many more people to the practice who otherwise wouldn't know about it."
• "Innovation is good for yoga. The many different styles that are evolving make the practice accessible to everyone."
• "Yoga in America is becoming too commercialized."
  

Is yoga the current fitness fad? Maybe. Will it fade in popularity? I suspect it will for those who flitter from one new trend to the next new trend. But, for example, there have been years of research into the potential benefit of yoga in improving the quality of life for cancer patients and survivors, and the National Cancer Institute has recently awarded M. D. Anderson a $2.4 million dollar grant to study the benefits of Tibetan yoga for cancer patients and survivors.

According to M. D. Anderson researchers, cancer and its treatment are associated with considerable distress, impaired quality of life, poor mental health and reduced physical function. For thousands of years, Tibetans have been practicing a form of yoga that might help reduce treatment-related side effects that accumulate over time for cancer patients. As research continues, yoga may become an accepted alternative and complementary therapy incorporated into mainstream medical practice for the treatment of disease and improving health.

Realistically, I am not certain that some of the trendy hybrid forms of yoga will endure over time, but the yoga that has been around for thousands of years is here to stay.

It is estimated that 1.25 billion men and women currently smoke cigarettes. And if this trend holds steady, tobacco will kill 1 billion people by the end of the century -- 10 times the amount of people who died from tobacco in the 20th century. Every one in five cancer deaths results from tobacco use -- worldwide, that's 1.4 million tobacco-related deaths every year. And lung cancer remains the major cancer among the 10.9 million new cases that are diagnosed annually. All this comes from the Cancer Atlas -- updated and released today along with the Tobacco Atlas and published by the American Cancer Society with assistance from the International Union Against Cancer, World Health Organization, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While improving nutrition and reducing infection can dramatically reduce cancer rates, reducing tobacco use would have the greatest global affect the number of cancer deaths. And if action is taken now, 2 million lives could be saved each year by 2020 and 6.5 million lives by 2040.