Roger Ebert, one of America's best known film critics, has not been able to speak since he had emergency cancer surgery on July 1 to repair a burst blood vessel near the site of his June 16 surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. But he can still give a thumbs up or thumbs down as he reviews movies on his Web site.

Starting today, clips from Ebert & Roeper and Ebert's prior episodes of his movie review TV show will be posted here. It just may be the largest collection ever of video-based online movie reviews -- 5,000 movie reviews spanning the past 20 years will be featured.

Ebert is not quite sure when he might return to television as he awaits another surgery to restore his voice. In the meantime, he screens as many as three films a day. He watches DVDs at night to catch up on those he missed, and he's writing more than ever, he says.

Apparently the movie In the Land of Women is playing somewhere in the United States -- it was released on April 20 -- but I can't seem to find it in my area. I want to find it, though, because it stars actress Meg Ryan as Sarah Hardwicke, a woman rediscovering herself as she recovers from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is not the main theme in this movie. It's mostly about a successful writer, played by The O.C.'s Adam Brody, who loses a girl, moves to a new town to care for his grandmother, and finds a new girl. Her mom is Sarah Hardwicke.

I learned about this movie just today while reading an interview with Meg Ryan in the May 2007 issue of Redbook.

Summer Running: A Race To Cure Breast Cancer is a documentary about two amazing women who are fighting breast cancer. The film sheds light on this common disease and those dedicated to finding a cure.

Donate just 20 dollars and you can get this highly acclaimed documentary. Net proceeds go to cancer researchers at Johns Hopkins University and The University of Virginia.

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Movie critic Roger Ebert expects to be back to work at his annual festival for overlooked movies this week. It will be his first public appearance since having cancer surgery last summer -- and while some say his appearance may attract the gossip papers, Ebert says, "So what?"

Ebert, 64, will be seen at the ninth annual Overlooked Film Festival, beginning today at the University of Urbana-Champaign, wearing a gauze bandage around his neck. And his mouth will be seen to droop, he says.

This is all because of Ebert's tracheostomy -- it opens an airway through an incision in his windpipe, rendering him speechless -- that resulted from his June 16 surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland and a subsequent July 1 surgery to repair a burst blood vessel close to the same site.

On Tuesday, Ebert shared that his cancer began in his salivary gland but then spread to his lower right jaw. As a result, part of his mandible was removed and two surgeries were necessary to reconstruct the area. Both surgeries were unsuccessful, however, and led to unanticipated bleeding.

"The doctors now plan an approach that does not involve the risk of unplanned bleeding," Ebert, a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, says. "If all goes well, my speech will be restored."

This cancer survivor, who says we spend too much time hiding illness and is proud to be back in the spotlight, has also co-hosted the Ebert & Roeper television show with fellow Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper since 2000. Film critics and filmmakers have been filling in for Ebert during his recovery.

One man. One cancer diagnosis. One feature-length film. About how 17,000 men gain membership every month in a group this one man calls, The Men's Club.

The man is Rocky Galgano. He is 58 years old. He is a retired police officer. And he happens to be a member of the very club he features in his film -- a club full of men living with prostate cancer.

Galgano created his documentary as a companion to all the densely-written books and resources he found filled to the brim with medical jargon about a disease that will strike 218,890 and kill 27,050 men this year alone.

Men are reluctant to talk about prostate cancer or get tested for the disease, says Galgano. And yet this form of cancer can be cured if caught early. So Galgano stepped to the plate and started talking. He talks about his personal experience, and he talks about different types of treatment. He has nine different doctors talk. He has cancer survivors talk. And he says he wants as many people as possible to see this film.

Galgano is working on distribution and says he's close to a deal with Amazon.com. He also plans to market the not-yet-rated film to urologists across the country, and he will soon sell his masterpiece -- a trailer can be seen here -- on his website for $19.95.

To the consternation of small business and medical insurers alike, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced sweeping reform in health care coverage with a proposal of universal health care for all Californians. Currently, 6.5 million residents who live in the state are without the security and safety of medical health care coverage.

Schwarzenegger, who is now being accused of sounding more Democrat than Republican, suggests his new $12 billion dollar health care plan be paid with fees levied on businesses, insurers, doctors and hospitals, and that 85 percent of every insurance premium dollar be spent on the insured in patient care. Insurers would be required to make all-things-equal in offering health insurance based on a community-rating model, as opposed to charging higher premiums for those who fall into a high-risk category. In addition, insurance companies would not be able to deny coverage. All persons who apply for health insurance would be guaranteed coverage.

Employers would be required to provide health insurance to all workers or pay 4 percent of their payrolls to the state; doctors would pay a new tax of 2 percent; and hospitals would pay a new tax of 4 percent.

The number of medically-uninsured in this country is growing yearly, and it is an issue that cannot be ignored. Those without medical insurance postpone seeing a physician, and when we are talking about cancer, delayed diagnosis and treatment can often mean the difference between life and death.

Recent surveys have indicated that even the insured are beginning to wonder if they will be able to afford quality health care in the future, as the cost of care continues to rise. It is not lost on politicians that health care is an important issue with the voters of this country, and those who wish to garner more votes will tackle these concerns.

In fairness, I am not suggesting politicians are solely motivated to act based on popular vote, but elections do have a way of clarifying the issues that are important to the citizens of this country and the resulting changes that can occur as a result of defined focus.

Schwarzenegger is not alone in his efforts to affect change. In December, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden introduced a new proposal to provide affordable, high quality, private health coverage for everyone regardless of where they work or live with the Healthy Americans Act.

The current system is simply not working for nearly 46.6 million people who are without health insurance coverage, according to statistics provided by U.S. Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. The solution will not be an easy one, but a solution is needed. Schwarzenegger has made a bold move, but one that will be made by other political leaders in this country as we lead up to the 2008 presidential elections. For the every day citizen, the time is overdue for the realignment of a health care system that is teetering out-of-balance and in a seriously off-kilter orbit.

Related posts:

Uninsured: the hard wind batters the brittle tree
Cancer survivors not getting medical attention or medications
Two paychecks away and cancer into the abyss
Healthy Americans Act: health insurance for every citizen

Sexy. Seductive. Super-intelligent. All aptly describe Sharon Stone. Another is sportswoman, as Stone is an avid golfer. During a recent interview with Golf for Women, she shared a story about her father, also an avid golfer, surviving esophageal cancer by playing golf.

Given three months to live, her father was able to play through his chemotherapy and radiation treatments because of specially-built clubs designed by the golf equipment company Callaway. A feeding tube inserted after surgery prevented him from being able to bend. Without the new clubs, he would not have been able to continue in a much-loved positive activity.

Around the same time, Rob Lowe's father was being treated for cancer with a new targeted drug therapy, Avastin, and they helped Stone obtain the same drug for her father. She attributes the game of golf and the help of her friend Lowe with saving her father's life.

Twenty-two operations later, when Stone's father had successfully beaten cancer, she called the Callaway company to let them know how much a part she believed the company had in her father's recovery. The woman who took the call began to cry because it was the one year anniversary of her own mother's death from cancer and Stone's call lifted her spirits that something the company had done might have helped someone survive cancer.

For many golfers, golf is more than a sport. "Golf teaches you about life, about humanity, about things that will make you a better person," explains Stone. At the end of the article, Stone offers this advice, "Your life is a book; every page you write, you carry with you. You don't get to tear the pages out and throw them away. So write wisely. It doesn't matter what others write, ever, ever, ever. They don't know you at all. But what you write is indelible." Spirited. Insightful. Centered. All Sharon Stone.

Sharon Shakes It Up, Hollywood's A-list femme fatale has strong opinions about everything--including golf, is the Golf for Women cover story in the January/February 2007 issue. The interview has been published online here.

It is the truest spirit of giving in a story told the day after the most celebrated day of giving in a season of giving, where lives intersect in unexpected ways that remind us of the best in who we are as human beings.

A brother and sister, 15-year-old Stephanie and 18-year-old Kevin Hudon, are both facing cancer. Stephanie's bone cancer has spread to her lungs and her brother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A teacher at the high school both Stephanie and Kevin attend, Christine Monahan, had been spearheading a fundraiser to financially help the family through this overwhelming time. Last month, Nathan Burditt, a student who attends the same high school, spent 34 hours in line to buy the coveted and hard-to-come-by PlayStation 3. Monahan said she was kidding when she suggested to Burditt that he donate the newly-acquired gaming system to a raffle to help the Hudon family.

But Burditt took her seriously and donated the popular PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3, one of the it gaming systems this year, attracted $21,000 dollars in raffle ticket sales. Before the PlayStation 3, Monahan had expected to raise $500 dollars during the raffle. Ticket buyers to the raffle, knowing of Burditt's unselfish act of compassionate charity, wrote his name, not their own, on the raffle tickets they bought. Because of this, Burditt won back the PlayStation 3 he had donated.

The simple acts of kindness for a brother and sister struggling to survive cancer made national news. Enter comedic actor Adam Sandler. Upon hearing about Stephanie and Kevin, Sandler sent a PlayStation 3 loaded with games, signed DVDs, jerseys and an autographed Longest Yard poster to them to help make their Christmas a little more joyful.

Meanwhile, Burditt, who has won the PlayStation 3 in the raffle he donated it to, wanted to turn around and sell it to make even more money for the Hudon family. Everyone is telling the young man he has done so much more than anyone ever expected from any one person that he should keep it now. The raffle ticket buyers wanted him to own it after he so willingly gave it up to help someone he did not even know. It is reported that Monahan is keeping the gaming system boxed at her house until Burditt makes a decision on whether he will accept it for himself, or to what purpose he intends on using it to help again.

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, I believe each of us holds the secret wish that we could make the cancer go away. But we know we cannot, and yet we want to do everything we can do for them. Easing the journey, with a donation of time or money is one way, as is filling the life of a cancer patient with as much joy and laughter as possible, and if it distracts them from the current reality, all the better. Burditt, Monahan and Sandler did just that for Stephanie and Kevin Hudon of Manchester.

Now that Farrah Fawcett has successfully completed treatment for cancer, she is turning her attention to raising money for cancer research and cure.

Only available through her website is the Farrah Fawcett's Fight the Fight T-shirt and Hoodie clothing line. The apparel, which she designed, reflects her personal motto, Fight the Fight, as she underwent treatment for cancer.

A portion of the profits from the Farrah Fawcett's Fight the Fight T-shirts and Hoodies will be donated to the American Cancer Society. During an Entertainment Tonight interview, Fawcett said she is looking forward to getting back to work in the near future. Visit the official Farrah Fawcett website for more information about the Fight the Fight clothing line to benefit cancer research.

Related posts:

• Farrah Fawcett completes cancer treatment will offer survivor tips
• Farrah Fawcett: Positivity is a necessity in cancer fight
• Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett diagnosis of cancer

When World Tag Team Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper underwent back surgery for an injury he sustained during the World Wrestling Entertainment tour in Europe last month, the surgeons discovered two small marble-sized areas behind his stomach that gave cause for concern that he might have cancer. After biopsy, a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made. Because the cancer was found early, Piper is optimistic that he will be able to wrestle cancer to the mat to complete defeat.

"It seems like I have been fighting someone, something, someplace, in some manner, my whole life. But this fight, is one I am gonna win! Ever Forward." stated Piper on his blog.

Canadian-born Piper lives in the Portland, Oregon area. If you are a fan who would like to send Piper your support and best wishes, you can write to him at:

Roddy Piper
18645 S.W. Farmington Rd.
PMB 312
Aloha, Oregon
97007
USA

Piper blogs about wrestling, his family, and now surviving cancer at Piper's Pit.

Mid-October, we shared that actor John Forsythe, whose portrayal of Dynasty's Blake Carrington garnered him two Golden Globe Awards and several Emmy nominations, and who was the persuasive voice of Charlie on the television and film versions of Charlie's Angels, had entered Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for colon cancer treatment.

More often than not, when we write a post concerning a celebrity, public figure or well-known blogger in the cancer community and cancer, it is in memorium, each one as painful to compose as the last.

Happily, this time, I am sharing more hopeful news. In mid-November, Forsythe, who is 88 years young, was released from the hospital and entered a rehab facility in Northern California. His family expects him home for Christmas.

According to reports, the Forsythe family has expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and concern from the community. Charlie's Angel Cheryl Ladd, who replaced Farrah Fawcett in the television series -- is said to have sent her well wishes to Forsythe by saying, "He is my dear friend. I can't wait until he comes home so we can all gather around the dinner table. We have been praying for him."

About.com Colon Cancer Guide Donna Myers provides an address for anyone who wishes to send well wishes to John Forsythe and his family. You can write to:

John Forsythe
P.O. Box 1739
Santa Ynez, CA 93460

We send our best wishes to the family as well -- and a most Merry Christmas.

Sometimes all it takes is a small gesture to warm the heart of a cancer patient. It doesn't take anything huge. It shouldn't cause any stress or discomfort. And it shouldn't require a whole lot of thought. It should be simple. Simply simple.

A whole lot of small gestures spread a whole lot of cheer my way when I was knee-deep in cancer treatment and needed a lift. Cozy socks kept my feet and my spirits toasty. A package of brownies sweetened my sour days. Flowers brightened my dining room and my state of mind. Books left on my doorstep delivered knowledge and wisdom and a bit of humor to my world.

The options for spreading sunshine are endless. The list of possibilities could go on and on. Here is just a start -- a small list of small gestures that can make a dreary day downright delightful.

Give a hug
Send a handwritten letter
Make a homemade card
Write a poem
Give a journal
Deliver a candle
Make a home-cooked meal
Arrange for food delivery
Babysit children
Play with children
Drive to appointments
Go wig or hat shopping
Visit during chemotherapy sessions
Give something comfy -- socks, pajamas, hat
Do grocery shopping
Accompany to lunch, dinner, movie
Take a walk
Attend church
Have a picnic
Go fishing
Make a donation to favorite charity
Walk, run, volunteer, raise funds in honor of your special someone

Be specific in your gesturing. Trade a comment like "let me know if I can do anything" for "I'm going to come over and wash and clean your car on Saturday." Vague offers are rarely successful -- cancer patients are not likely to recall every general offer they receive and then manage them all into a schedule. It's just too much to consider in the midst of turmoil. But an offer that comes to life right before them is easy. It's effortless. It is truly a gift. A simple, priceless gift.

Usually, when we announce a celebrity is raising awareness for cancer, it is the result of a news release that the celebrity has joined a cancer foundation in an effort to lend a higher visibility to the campaign.

In the case of actress Julia Roberts, it appears simply having your photo taken is enough to raise awareness about cancer. At a Hollywood tribute to George Clooney, photographers noticed a mole on her right breast which led to a cancer expert urging Roberts to get it checked out. A dermatologist is suggesting that it looks like a scar resulting from the removal of a mole, according to the movie and entertainment reporting of the incident.

Do you think celebrities ever get fish-bowl claustrophobia from such intense scrutiny and unsolicited advice into their private life? Roberts strikes me as an intelligent woman, and I would wager she is aware of her mysterious mole and has sought medical attention for it.

However unintended as a service to public health information, this latest celebrity gossip about Roberts' right breast does create conversation into what might qualify as a suspicious-looking mole likely to warrant medical attention.

The warning signs of a mole that can cause cancer concern are:



Asymmetry -- One side of the mole does not match the other side of the mole and appears uneven.

Border -- The edge of the mole has a ragged or irregular border.

Color -- The color of the mole is uneven and varies in shade.

Diameter -- A mole bigger than a pencil eraser.

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common and malignant melanoma can be the most deadly if not caught in its earliest stage. This year in the US, more than one million people will be diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, and 62,190 will be diagnosed with melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society. For more information on skin cancer related posts, visit Melanoma and Skin Cancer.

Monday night is Courage Night, hosted by the Young Survival Coalition (YSC), national sorority Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA), and Lifetime television. It's a night when Lifetime's Original Movie Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy will air, when crowds will gather in communities and on college campuses across the nation for special screenings and viewing parties of the movie that brings glaring attention to the issue of breast cancer.

Courage Night was created in 2004 by Geralyn Lucas, author of the book Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, as an evening of celebration in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was also a celebration of the publication of her then-new book.

Lucas, diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27, recounts in her memoir every step of her cancer journey, including her bold application of red lipstick just before her mastectomy. She knew from the day she was diagnosed she would speak out to help others, to raise awareness, to make a difference. Now 39, a mother of two, and an executive for Lifetime, Lucas is still making waves. And Courage Night lives on.

Courage Night has grown into a national grassroots event that honors breast cancer survivors and those lost to the disease. Event fundraising will benefit YSC -- the only organization dedicated to the special issues of young breast cancer survivors.

Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, starring actress Sarah Chalke, will air Monday, October 23 at 9:00 PM.

Cate Blanchett is set to star as Marisa Acocella Marchetto in Cancer Vixen: A True Story, the cartoonist fashionista for Glamour and the New Yorker who discovered, while planning her wedding to celebrity restaurateur Silvano Marchetto, that she had breast cancer. Marchetto also realized she had let her health insurance lapse right before being diagnosed with cancer.

With stylish aplomb, she has become phenomenally popular for her colorful personality, and the telling of her breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship with a sense of humor and fashion flair that included wearing her favorite high heels to chemotherapy and noting that her hospital gown reminded her of Diane von Furstenberg designs.

Amazon features an exclusive cartoon on the Cancer Vixen: A True Story book page and portrays Marchetto as a "self-described shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life." Blanchett is reportedly in talks to produce the film as well, with her husband, Andrew Upton, through their company Dirty Films.

One of our bloggers and breast cancer survivor Jacki Donaldson, in a previous post featuring Marisa Acocella Marchetto, recommends Cancer Vixen: A True Story as a "must read." For all women facing breast cancer, I agree. Never underestimate the positive benefit of a spunky attitude -- sense of humor -- and a really sexy pair of high heels when it comes to facing the struggles with breast cancer.