We have two choices about how we handle painful life experiences: from a place of fear or optimism. When I was sick I chose (and it was a very active, decisive choice) optimism in the form of Silver Linings.

by Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund When I read about Angelina Jolie's announcement this week, I cringed....

"We have developed a vaccine to prevent breast cancer!" No, you're not seeing things. These were the exact words expressed by Dr. Vincent Tuohy, immunologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who announced the development of his breakthrough breast cancer vaccine earlier this month.

My medical oncologist asks me how I'm doing "psychologically." And the truth is that most days I'm fine. Although I wish -- of course -- that I didn't have cancer again. I am calm and methodical about my cancer and how I will go about treating it, because now it is just a part of my life.

For young women with breast cancer, the stakes of treatment are greater -- in terms of potential for life-years saved, and in terms of the risks of therapy

A cancer diagnosis doesn't just happen to you. It also happens to your family, friends and community. People who were directly or indirectly impacted by my illness sought to identify their roles in my treatment, to figure out what they could contribute to the experience.

While there have been a few very important insights into breast cancer that have come from the mouse model, there are many more studies that have not translated into humans. If we want to understand the cause and treatment of breast cancer in women we have to study women.

A new study published in Cancer finds that women who had early stage breast cancer had better survival rates if they had lumpectomy and radiation as opposed to total mastectomy.

Opportunities are being missed, and time and money are being wasted. We all know people who are struggling with cancer and the intense challenges of the current treatment protocols. The needs are urgent and the time to act is now.

The Silver Linings that I have experienced (and continue to experience!) during my cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery help me get through each and every day. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the Silver Linings, but you'll never, ever, not in a million years hear me refer to cancer as a gift.

Women with breast cancer should be helped to clearly understand what can and cannot be achieved by prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and the potentially significant risks of the procedure. Doctors, in turn, should accept that a reduction in fear is a worthwhile goal in cancer treatment.

I believe we can herald 2012 as one of the greatest exposures for stage IV breast cancer of this century. I wasn't suffocated by the "pink haze" this ...

A new study shows just how dangerous it can be to wait to get treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The study, published in the Jour...

The odds of a man getting breast cancer are about 1 in 1,000, which makes the story of the Boglers all the more surprising when it comes to statistics...

In the last decades we have made much progress toward identifying and characterizing the pathways that lead to cancer development, but we also know that we have only just skimmed the surface of potential targeted therapy.

The year 2011 was, in short, the worst year of my life... a year that changed just about every part of my life. But here it is, Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2012, and I feel mostly good.

When I was diagnosed with cancer two years ago this month, I never asked "Why?" Instead, I wondered, "What am I supposed to learn from this experience?" As it turns out, one of the Silver Linings of my experience with breast cancer was learning some valuable life lessons.

Pain and sadness are important and valuable feelings that need to be processed during and after any rotten experience. The beauty of Silver Linings is that they don't take away the rain. Rather, they provide an umbrella.

I decided that I would undergo a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. I remember the frustration I felt at not having the mastectomy sooner. I wanted to fast track the whole thing. I wanted those things off yesterday.