How to deal with life threatening diagnosis, how to not let your disease define you, and the one thing you can do today to make your life better today with Steve Brown.

Listen in to learn what it's like to have metastatic breast cancer, how common it is, and other facts you should know.

It is anxiety that is the killer. 

We humans suffer most when not knowing all that needs to be known, especially when there is so much to fear. 

I choose, as do many dictionaries and as have countless great religious leaders and philosophers, to define “anxiety” as “fear of the unknown.”

I frequently relate a parable to my patients on this crucial subject. 

Let us travel back in time to the clan of the proverbial caveman. In one cave, somewhat safe from the elements and huddled about a fire, is a family fraught with anxiety toward the savage carnivores outside. These beasts only know this clan as prey. The clan shrinks under the weight of this presumed knowledge, convinced that the predators will most assuredly find and devour them. The clan huddles all the closer, shaken by every foreign sound and every dimming of the fire. They dare not move. They are not ready to battle for their next meal or to survive. 

That is the primordial example of paralysis by analysis; it is as old as man. That is anxiety.

Anyone who has been given a cancer diagnosis makes an immediate re-calibration of every previously held ambition. 

Friends and loved ones often don't understand how priorities held for a lifetime can change overnight when someone learns that he or she has cancer. 

Reactions to a cancer diagnosis, regardless of the prognosis, will vary according to personality… but, each person will experience an onslaught of fear, worry and uncertainty.

A recent report from the National Cancer Institute estimated 14 million people in the U.S. have had a cancer diagnosis, but that number is expected to grow to 19 million by 2024. More and more people must struggle with how to face the new reality of a life-threatening disease. 

And, over on the sidelines, friends and loved ones struggle with how best to support them.

Curcumin has wonderful properties to boost your health.

On average, a person takes approximately 17,000-23,000 breaths a day. The number varies based on several factors, including a person’s lifestyle and environment. 

This statistic proves just how important the lungs are. You are constantly using them to fuel the rest of your body.

Lungs act at the first point of contact for oxygen as it enters the body. From there, oxygen is dispersed throughout the bloodstream, being carried to cells throughout the body. Each cell transfers carbon dioxide when it receives oxygen. The blood carries the carbon dioxide back to the lungs where it is removed through exhaling. This gas exchange is necessary for everyday functioning.

In order to keep this process going, it’s crucial to keep your lungs healthy. Lung-related health complications can negatively affect the oxygen flow to your cells, along with a variety of other body processes. These ailments vary from viruses and colds to chronic conditions and lifelong sickness and cancer. Certain lung conditions can be hereditary, or caused by genetics. Such conditions include asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

However, certain lung conditions are non-inheritable; that is, caused by environmental and lifestyle factors. While not always 100% preventable, these conditions can be avoided.

Every year, over 22,000 women in the United States are newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer and over 14,000 women die from the disease.

Discover all-natural ways to lower your risk of cancer.

How can you reduce your risk for cancer and chronic disease?

Life as I knew it changed very drastically in 2005. Not once, but twice. 

In August 2005, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Lily Rose. She was a true blessing, and my husband Cameron and I could not have been more excited. Three months in, we were still learning the ropes of parenthood; so excited and so blessed. The only problem was that I felt absolutely awful. I was losing weight, I couldn’t breathe... I knew something was wrong.

In November of 2005, I got my diagnosis: mesothelioma. Malignant pleural mesothelioma, to be specific. My husband saw the terror in my eyes when the words came from the doctor's mouth. From researching online, you can quickly find out that the prognosis of mesothelioma is grim. Most patients are given about 15 months to live after diagnosis. I knew that I couldn’t be a part of that statistic. I needed to beat this.

In May 2015, Vice President Joe Biden lost his son Beau Biden to a fight against brain cancer.

He was only 46 years old, and had served as the Delaware attorney general, and also served in the Army National Guard.

Crushed by the loss of his eldest son, VP Biden responded shortly after with a nationwide initiative that will eventually help others battling cancer, and lessen the number of families suffering after the loss of a loved one.

The National Cancer Moonshot 2020 is an initiative that aims to change the way we see and deal with cancer. With additional efforts, a noteworthy budget, and all hands on deck by 2020, the initiative will be capable of moving mountains in terms of where we are in cancer research. Our nation will again be able to do things that we once thought were impossible… just like landing on the moon.

A special type of radiation therapy called proton therapy "zaps" cancer and is giving patients with hard-to-reach tumors new hope.

Dr. Friedman and Kim discuss newfound research that suggests your sunscreen may be doing more harm than good and even causing cancer.

How can you cope when prematurely faced with mortality?

Learn more about common myths surrounding genetic testing for breast cancer.

It's never to late to get informed about ovarian cancer and genetic testing.

We all live busy lives and ailments come and go.

Nobody feels perfect all of the time.

Learn about new advancements in breast conservation surgery.

Cancer treatment can cause premature menopause. Get the basics on cancer survivorship and menopause.

Find out how you can be supportive of your friend who is facing a cancer diagnosis.