You didn't have to have a million-selling poster to relate to Farrah's struggle (image courtesy of Everett Collection).
Two things will stay in my memory about the sad loss of Farrah. One is the image of her grown son, Redmond O'Neal, fresh from jail, crawling into bed with his dying mom, as shown in the touching documentary "Farrah's Story."
And the other is simply a line from an article published when her illness returned, where Ryan O'Neal reported that her famous hair was gone.
Those two items remind us that Farrah was more than a poster. She was a mom, and although Redmond's troubles with drugs and the law are well-known, she was a mom who loved her son and surely tried to do the best by him.
And the loss of her hair...as anyone who's had or loved someone with cancer [unfortunate enough to foolishly choose to undergo the invasive balancing act known as Chemo as if that were anything more than controlled poisoning] knows, few things make you feel as naked as that one loss. More>>
Alternative cancer treatments
A Cure for All Diseases (Dr. Hulda Clark)
Natural, proven Gerson therapy
German cancer breakthrough
The Anti cancer diet
Cancer cure: amazing story of Essiac tea
Hoxsey: sprword.com/science
Hoxsey: How Healing [Cancer] Becomes a Crime
- Watch Now! (full-length 1:23)
"If a cancer cure were discovered outside of formal medical institutions, would these doctors ever know about it? Would it ever reach the general public? Of course it would, you might say, but consider this: there are scores of alternative cancer clinics around the world claiming high success rates, yet most of these treatments have been banned in the United States, are driven out of the country without an investigation. Why?"This documentary concerns Harry M. Hoxsey, the former coal miner whose family's herbal recipe has brought about claims of a cancer cure. Starting in 1924 with his first clinic, he expanded to 17 states by the mid 1950s, along the way constantly battling organized medicine that labeled him a charlatan.
Hoxsey's supporters point out that he was the victim of arrests, or "quackdowns," spearheaded by the proponents of established medical practices. Interviews of patients satisfied with the results of the controversial treatment are balanced with physicians from the FDA and the AMA. A clinic in Tijuana, Mexico claims an 80% success rate, while opponents are naturally skeptical. What is apparent is that cancer continues to be one of humankind's more dreaded diseases, and that political and economic forces dominate research and development (excerpt from website).
Where's the Cure for Cancer? (CNN)
Despite chemotherapy, some breast cancers recur like a "smoldering fire that flares up," Dr. Otis Brawley said.
President Obama's pledge to conquer cancer "in our time" is a great goal, but one of America's top cancer experts isn't sure he'd use the word "cure."
"The idea of [calling for] a cure does scare me a little bit because, I don't think that's realistic in some cancers," says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "But I like the general overall idea, and I'm thrilled about the focus on health."
Despite chemotherapy, some breast cancers recur like a "smoldering fire that flares up," Dr. Otis Brawley said. 
President Obama's pledge to conquer cancer "in our time" is a great goal, but one of America's top cancer experts isn't sure he'd use the word "cure."
"The idea of [calling for] a cure does scare me a little bit because, I don't think that's realistic in some cancers," says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "But I like the general overall idea, and I'm thrilled about the focus on health."
Obama's first proposed budget includes $6 billion for cancer research by the National Institutes of Health. That's on top of the additional $10 billion provided by the stimulus package for 2009 and 2010. More>>