112 million Americans will watch Mark Herzlich take the field tomorrow, a rookie linebacker and cancer survivor whose story has inspired Super Bowl fans across the country. Two years ago he was told he might never walk again.
What made the domino chain of 60 operations possible was the willingness of a Good Samaritan, Rick Ruzzamenti, to give an initial kidney after a flash of inspiration, expecting nothing in return. Its momentum was then fueled by a mix of selflessness and self-interest among donors who gave a kidney to a stranger after learning they could not donate to a loved one because of incompatible blood types or antibodies. Their loved ones, in turn, were offered compatible kidneys as part of the exchange.
An inspiring new book is the true account of one woman's journey to the edge of death and her medically miraculous return. During a 24-hour coma, after her body was ravaged by Hodgkin's Lymphoma, she had a near-death experience. Upon her return she was healed of her cancer.
At 57 years old, Greg Thomas was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. They told my family to go ahead and start planning my funeral. Greg passed the hours walking his dog on a rural Minnesota road -- a road that led him to a beautiful, abandoned church. He decided to repaint the crumbling relic. Three years later, when he began work on a rotting interior, his own interior was healing too.
Angelight Films is a non-profit production company that gives children with brain and spinal cord tumors the opportunity to express themselves by creating and even starring in their own short film. Inspired by her sister who died of a brain tumor at age 5, Stephanie Angel founded Angelight Films as a creative outlet that helps children heal and recognize their inner light.
Surgery may soon be a thing of the past for breast cancer patients, thanks to a new technique that destroys tumors by freezing them. A supercooled needle tip is repeatedly inserted into the cancerous tissue to turn it into a ball of ice, before it is then defrosted, leaving the tumor damaged.
Nick Santillo's rare heart defect has kept him in and out of hospitals since he was an infant. The eight-year-old, who was born with only half the chambers in his heart, had his wish granted this morning when the TODAY show arranged for him to meet his hero, WWE champion wrestler John Cena.
Training our immune systems to fight cancer has been an appealing prospect among scientists for decades. Stanford researchers are on track to begin human trials of a potentially potent new weapon against cancer that does exactly that.
They both have terminal cancer but Kathleen Rinard has only days to live and wanted to give her husband one final gift. He always wanted to ride in a Cobra convertible sports car, so she called an auto club. Instead of a single convertible rolling up to their hospice, 29 Cobras arrived revving engines outside.
Lady Gaga, criticized recently for gaining weight, launched a new Body Revolution project on her LittleMonsters website, hoping to help build confidence in people with body-image issues. The pop star revealed she has suffered from bulimia and anorexia since she was 15.
Injured troops and cancer patients were given a massive boost this week after receiving a surprise visit from David Beckham.
Thousands of donors have contributed $650,000 to Planned Parenthood within 24 hours in reaction to the Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to cut off funding to the group. The immediate spike in online donations was large enough to replace last year's Komen funding, which is used for breast screenings.
For photographer Bob Carey and his wife Linda, a big hairy man in a pink tutu has taken on special meaning in their fight against breast cancer. When Linda was recovering from surgery, he discovered something he could do to ease the stress. He took photos of himself in odd locations wearing a pink tutu. Mr. Carey has now shot more than 110 images of himself in tutus, all for a book to raise money to help others dealing with the disease
When a 7-year-old learned his friend had cancer, he decded he could help raise money by racing go-karts. One of the boy's heroes, Nascar racer Jeff Gordon, heard about his campaign and decided to help.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Jessica Biel, and Samuel L. Jackson. When enough A-list Hollywood actors come together for a cause, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox networks will follow. Tomorrow night, at 8:00pm Eastern/Pacific and 7:00 Central, even cable channels will clear their schedules to broadcast a commercial-free one-hour fundraiser produced by the entertainment-industry-favorite, Stand Up to Cancer, co-founded by Katie Couric.
A plaque commemorating the woman who inspired the Beatles' hit, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, will be placed in Liverpool in memory of the woman who died in 2009 at age 46. Lucy Vodden was depicted in a painting brought home from nursery school by a young Julian Lennon, who showed it to his dad, John, and told him it was Lucy — in the sky with diamonds. Julian got back in touch with Lucy when he heard that she was battling Lupus, an auto-immune disease.
When a 7-year-old learned his friend had cancer, he decded he could help raise money by racing go-karts. One of the boy's heroes, Nascar racer Jeff Gordon, heard about his campaign and decided to help.
It was a star-studded night. After recording her new song at Rotation Records, Amy Hosmer left the studio. She was greeted by about 75 enthusiastic fans. She smiled shyly and thanked everyone for coming. Not what we'd expect from a rock star. But Amy isn't a typical star.
Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron has a starring role in her homeland of South Africa -- helping prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Theron believes the key lies in empowering African youth at a grassroots level, so she has traveled with the Global Fund to help any way she can.
To the Nebraska college football team and fans, this play was truly one of your finest moments the school has ever seen. Little Jack Hoffman, who has cancer, led a very special Husker play into the end zone with the ball.
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