Since I have had my double mastectomy, there have also been a number of community-based organizations that have opened and that cater to cancer patients, survivors and their families. When you are a cancer survivor, you are forever embracing uncertainty and, at times, strong emotions. Your rational mind says you should be over thinking in that way by now.

Yes, when I write about how a caregiver should take care of him or herself, I am talking to myself as well as to others. I know how hard it is. For two years, I did not leave my husband. Like so many others, I postponed my own doctor's appointments telling myself I didn't have the time, and turning down invitations from friends. But firm words from two doctor friends helped me decide to take the occasional afternoon for myself.

Once diagnosed with cancer, a patient's life will never be the same. Once the turmoil of the diagnosis, and the subsequent treatment, whether it's surgery, radiation or chemotherapy, is over life as we know it now commences. There are ups and there are downs. Luckily for me, the ups far surpassed the downs.

On August 3, 2012, I will celebrate being five years cancer-free. There are days where fear takes over, and it seems to be taking forever to make it to this milestone. Thankfully though, there's a good side to this story. It's the promise of a warm sunny day, and the peace of a lazy afternoon listening to the pitter patter of rain. It is the promise of a new day, and the feeling of gratitude for the one that just passed. It's about life.

Honesty is the glue that holds a relationship together. Even when it might not be the most pleasant news to tell a woman, it is better for a man to be open and honest than to tell a lie

Sorry ladies, apparently attributing your mood to hormones is not acceptable. Surprisingly, men do not enjoy women who may, from time to time, appear like Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest.