As if being involved in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centers wasn't horrific enough, it's now appearing as if people present at the WTC on that world-changing day have higher than normal rates of lymphatic and blood cancers, as reported on our sister site, That's Fit. This comes as a particularly harsh blow, since it's also been shown that 70% of this group also suffers from respiratory illnesses. But the true impact of this correlation won't be evident for years to come, when the disease may become present in many not currently affected.

I can't help but be reminded of the aftermath of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII, when what was at first a tragedy of epic proportions was made by the realization that people would continue to suffer the effects for many years to come.

The world is such a cruel, unfair place sometimes.

I keep writing about skin cancer, specifically melanoma, because I'm a little obsessed about it. I guess the seriousness of the disease is finally sinking in and making me think.

I want you to think about it too. I want you to stay out of the sun, cover up, dress yourself in sunscreen, report for annual skin cancer screenings, and arm yourself with knowledge.

If you are not convinced by my words alone, please watch this video about how melanoma spreads -- how it breaks away from its original location and metastasizes throughout the bloodstream and lymphatic system, landing in other parts of the body. Melanoma is the deadliest from of skin cancer. This video proves it.

I was present for death only one time in my 36 years of life. I consider this both a bad and a good thing. It's bad because I did not want my grandmother to die -- and watching it happen made it so real, so vivid, so painful. I don't think I would have ever chosen to watch my grandma die -- to watch her slip from consciousness to coma, to observe her altered body once death arrived, to witness the movement of her body on a stretcher as it was wheeled out of the house from the bedroom I still see every time I visit my mom's house. But I think I am lucky really -- and this is the good part -- because I got to be with her during her final moments. I got to watch her body as it lay still, peaceful and calm and still breathing. I got to talk to her and although she could not respond, I believe she could hear my words. And it makes me happy to know my grandma may have known I was with just prior to her flight to heaven. And after her flight, I got to touch her cool hands. I got to feel the power of the passing of one life -- a long life -- and I got to feel the comfort of a death that was not ugly or painful or difficult. It was sad -- it's still sad -- that my grandma died three years ago. But what a privilege it was to be part of the day she left this world.

Susan DeWilde left this world in much the same way -- with loved ones by her side. She was a fighter and had conquered several rounds of breast cancer, a tumor in her spinal cord, uterine cancer, lymphatic cancer, and then leukemia, which took her life at the age of 53. I don't know this from Susan herself but from her friend, Christy Mack -- who helped her accept her death and guided her into her own final moments so that she could escape her pain and die peacefully. Christy writes about her beautiful friend and her empowering death in an article that appears in the August 2006 Oprah Magazine. Titled Friends to the End, Christy's story details how she soothed her friend, cradled her hand, and talked her through her last breaths. She helped her on her way during a time her friend feared most. Christy writes, "What she and I shared the night she died was a precious gift of friendship, emotionally profound and sacred in its perfection. It broke my heart. It strengthened my soul."

This I understand.

Receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer is devastating enough, then to find out you have one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer is even more frightening.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I had never heard of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). What is shocking to me now is the fact that I have come in contact with many breast cancer survivors who are not aware of inflammatory breast cancer. This leads me to believe that if some breast cancer survivors don't know about IBC then the general public probably doesn't know much about it either.

IBC is a rare form of breast cancer. Breast cancer is not just one disease, there are many different types. I was diagnosed with one of the more common types called invasive ductal carcinoma. It wasn't so common however that I was diagnosed at the age of 31.

Only about one percent to four percent of newly diagnosed breast cancers will be inflammatory breast cancer. The scariest thing is the fact that IBC is often mistaken for a breast infection which can delay diagnosis of the disease.

Eye cancer in most adults is a secondary cancer spread from tumors of the breast, lung, kidneys and prostate glands via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. Yearly eye exams are the best way to screen for eye cancer or Intraocular lymphoma.

Often melanomas of the eye are found during a routine eye exam. When the doctor looks through the pupil at the back of the eye, they may be able to see a dark spot that may indicate an early melanoma. Because they are rare, there is no screening test for them other than routine eye exams. People who find a dark spot on their iris (colored part of the eye) that is enlarging should have a doctor look at it. The first symptom of this disease is usually trouble with vision. Pain is rare. Intraocular lymphoma most often affects both eyes.

Examination of the eye by an ophthalmologist is the most important step in diagnosing melanoma of the eye. The doctor will look for enlarged blood vessels on the outside of the eye, which can indicate a tumor inside the eye. Using an ophthalmoscope, the ophthalmologist can get a very good look inside the eye and detect a tumor or other abnormality. Most of the time, this examination alone can make the diagnosis. To confirm the diagnosis, imaging tests such as ultrasound or angiography may be required. Angiography is a procedure done with a fluorescent dye that is injected into the bloodstream through a vein in the arm and will travel to the veins in the eye for examination. Very rarely will a biopsy also be needed.