This is the kind of news we don't hear enough of nowadays! A report today announced that cancer deaths dropped an average of 2.1 percent each year from 2002-2004. Learn more details about this report.

Compared to other cancers, breast cancer death rates aren't dropping quite as fast, but any decrease is still amazing progress. Breast cancer death rates fell 2.2 percent for women between 1990 and 2004.

The decline is being attributed to a few factors that include early detection and more people making positive lifestyle changes. Keep up the hard work, everybody. We are truly making a difference in this cancer fight.

This news should make people who particpate in walks and races feel especially triumphant. It is clear that their hard work is paying off. These ladies pictured above walked in the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer in NYC earlier this month. Only seven of the 14 women in this group are pictured. Many thanks to groups like Breast Friends Forever for the hard work you're doing to change the world.

I had a few hours to kill on the way home to DC from the AVON events in New York City over the weekend. I walked to the little magazine store around the corner and saw the cover of TIME magazine. I was excited to read the article since I had just had the pleasure to meet survivors from all over the world throughout the weekend.

A few things I learned from the article include:

"Every three minutes an Egyptian woman is told she has breast cancer, and one of her first fears is that her husband will leave her."

"Asian and black women in the U.S. and Africa are at a higher risk of developing a more aggressive form of breast cancer known as estrogen-receptor negative."

"The U.S. has the highest incidence rate, greatest number of cases and second highest number of deaths."

It's encouraging to see so much press on breast cancer throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It really is up to the strong breast cancer community of survivors and supporters to keep the awareness all year long. If you get a chance to pick up this issue of TIME magazine, I would highly recommend it.

Just when you hear that drinking wine should be avoided if you want to lower your breast cancer risk ... this news comes out. Mothers with wide hips pass breast cancer risks to infants.

How do you define wide hips? If the "mother's intercristal diameter (the widest distance between the wing-like structures at the top of the hip bone) was more than 30 centimeters (11.8 inches)." Read more details here.

This news is really disturbing for me, not just because my mother and I have larger hips (I haven't measured, but I'm sure they qualify), but because there's simply nothing you can do to prevent this from happening to you. Yes, you can watch your diet, yes, you can do all of the things you're supposed to do -- but what can you do about your mother's bone structure?

No matter if you have wide hips or not -- early detection is key. Don't be afraid to go to your doctor and protect your health.

So, is wine good for us or not? By now you've heard tons of studies, and I have to admit I don't know what I'm supposed to be consuming anymore. Everything in moderation, I guess.

According to research led by led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., more than 3 drinks could raise a drinker's risk by 30 percent.

I love wine and I know if I feel like having a drink, wine is the healthiest option for me. I'll take notice of this study, but I'll also continue to focus on the studies that sing the praises of wine's positive side effects.

Read more on this study here. Will you continue to have a glass of wine every so often?

This movie premiered on Lifetime last October and it's really worth mentioning again. Luckily, you can still go to the website and download the movie on iTunes and buy the book. http://www.whyiworelipstick.com/v2/home.html

I was looking forward to watching 'Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy' because I wanted to see how the film would balance the serious subject of breast cancer with humor. Clearly authors such as Geralyn Lucas are tired of breast cancer being a taboo subject. Humor is a great way to educate people about breast cancer and other causes, and 'Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy' creates that balance nicely.

There are some great scenes in the movie that really make the film work. These include Geralyn and her girlfriends taking pictures of themselves topless to show their strength and beauty as women, just as Geralyn's husband walks in on them. Another sincere yet lighthearted moment is when Geralyn tries on wigs in a salon with a bunch of encouraging drag queens. The whole film is very genuine, and you really feel for Geralyn throughout her journey from a perfectionist girl living out her dreams, to a sick and scared woman just struggling to get through the day. Your heart goes out to Geralyn as she is brought face to face with the fight of her life.