By Melissa Weber

Edie Falco, star of The Sopranos, recently announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. The 41-year-old actress, who continued to work on the show while receiving treatment, is now healthy and recently received her fourth Emmy Award nomination for her role as mob wife Carmela Soprano.

Testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong made history this July, having won his sixth-straight Tour de France. It was only eight years ago that the then little-known cyclist from Texas was given a 50 percent chance of surviving the cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs. The only question now is whether he ’ll be back for No. 7.

Francis Crick, PhD, who with James Watson, PhD, discovered the double helix structure of DNA, died July 28 at age 88 after battling colon cancer. Drs. Crick and Watson won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for their remarkable finding, which laid the foundation for DNA blood tests, innovations like gene therapy and even genetically engineered foods. Dr. Watson said in a statement that he admired Dr. Crick “for his extraordinarily focused intelligence and for the many ways he showed me kindness and developed my self-confidence.”

Co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple computer Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent emergency surgery in August to remove the tumor. In an e-mail message sent to Apple employees, Jobs wrote: “I had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which represents about 1 percent of the total cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed each year, and can be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time
(mine was).”

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has launched its Co-Survivor program, a national initiative to recognize the importance of those who are sources of support and inspiration to breast cancer patients and survivors. Nancy Brinker created the foundation in honor of her sister who died of breast cancer, and as a survivor herself, she knows how important family, friends, colleagues and even doctors can be to a patient. “My mother and I both were there for my sister, but my mother was the real trooper,” says Brinker. “We all gave each other strength.”

He didn’t want to meet a celebrity or take a fancy vacation. All 9-year-old leukemia survivor Ben Duskin wanted when the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked was to create a video game for other kids with cancer to take their mind off the disease. So with the help of Eric Johnston, a software engineer for LucasArts, Duskin created a game with himself as the skateboard-riding main character who zips around destroying mutated cells and collecting the seven shields that provide protection from common side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and hair loss. The game can be downloaded for free at www.makewish.org/ben.

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts recently completed treatment for throat cancer. After being diagnosed in June, the 63-year-old had surgery followed by radiation. A statement released by Watts’ publicist says he is expected to make a full recovery.