I was a 27-year-old surgical intern at New York Hospital in 1976 when I took care of my first patient who died from breast cancer. Mrs. M. was a 40-year-old woman with two young children and a loving husband.

I volunteered to fly to Michigan on Saturday and prepare a celebratory dinner for the clan--16 of us in all--for that night, after the family would have spent an exhausting day at the Games.

In this past weekend's " New York Times Magazine, Cynthia Gorney, a journalist in her 50s, wrote a passionate essay about the suffering experienced by some women during the perimenopausal transition.

Menstrual disorders are one of the most common complaints that women in this part of the menopausal transition experience.

If you're convinced that you'll be tortured by hot flashes and temperature disruptions, then you certainly will be.

This is the time for the recovery of our best traits: resilience, ingenuity and creativity.