There is a major campaign in our area on Breast Cancer Awareness. In 2000, my friend's mother died of breast cancer. All her three children are doctors now.

Where did she go wrong? She kept going to her doctor, but by the time she did, the cancer had spread. The best doctors at Sloan Kettering couldn't do much.

However, another friend's mother felt a lump, went to the doctor right away and the breast cancer was found. Immediate surgery saved her life.

These true stories tell us to:

• Check for lumps every day in each breast.
• Get a mammogram every year.
• Forget the guidelines for every other year or after 40.

The first woman mentioned in this article was over 40, but the second woman was under 40. She, of course, checked her breast herself and felt a lump. But it was the mammogram that confirmed breast cancer.

For breast cancer, you can feel the lump. But for colon cancer, you can not feel a polyp. Twenty-five percent of people over 50 have polyps in their colon.

So, the best advice: If you are 40 or over, get a colonoscopy. It is a worthwhile investment. The ost of treatment can be a half-million dollars and some may never survive inspite of these expenses.

KATIE COURIC's husband died at 48 of Colon Cancer and she has made it her crusade to encourage people to get screening.

I did lot of research in the '90s and early 2000s for cancer. I follow what is going on. Results for cancer treatment are not so good—they add a few years to life. There are some cancers where results are definitely better.

But EARLY SCREENING is my advice.