Woo-hoo! Fall is here! North Texas has come out of hibernation, as evidenced by opening of the venerable State Fair of Texas and the roster of football games, from high school “Friday night lights” to peewee leagues to our Dallas Cowboys. In fact, they intersect: two of our iconic college football rivalries occur on State Fair weekends.

Not to be overshadowed by football is the also-venerable—and lifesaving—Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure, which since its inception has raised $1 billion for breast cancer research that benefits every woman in the world. I’m proud to have participated in one of the first Komen races in the mid-8os. It was sponsored by Chili’s and held at the Willowbend Polo fields. I still have my now very tattered T-shirt. As one of the four of five women in my immediate family who are breast cancer survivors, I am in awe of and eternally grateful for the Komen Foundation and its work. It has taken a disease that was once considered a death sentence to an average survival rate of 91 percent.

That’s fortunate, because many people have noticed an explosive incidence of breast cancer among those they know or know of. I certainly have. Last April. I was in a meeting with a group of women and we were praying for four of our colleagues with breast cancer. Finally, I said, “I can’t take it anymore—I don’t want to hear of anyone else I know with breast cancer.”

The woman sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I just got a diagnosis.” At that point, I kind of lost it.

You have to wonder what’s happening. As the host of Healthy Living Healthy Planet Radio, my mind immediately goes to climate change and various other worsening environmental problems. However, in this month’s issue of Natural Awakenings, coach Tre' Bradley presents an intriguing case for emotional repression as a contributing factor. Check it out on page 37.

Not to be missed are our enlightening and encouraging articles on bodywork. My journey to mindfulness meditation and acupuncture was informed by my own breast cancer and my search for peace of mind and body—and how secure, satisfied, strong and well these practices make me feel. On my list to get into now are qigong and tai chi. It’s amazing how these modalities are God-given to help us naturally care for and honor our bodies, the greatest machines in the world. Just as God created everything we need to survive and thrive in this world, He’s provided us with all the tools inside to keep our bodies in top condition. Chief among them is bodywork.

As always, we hope you will find much in this month’s issue to help you along  your journey to a healthier life on a healthy planet—including a heathy celebration of National Dessert Month. I love sweets, even though my oncologist says eating sugar is like giving a growth hormone to cancer cells. So I hope you will join me in patronizing local eateries that offer healthy desserts. Two of my favorites are Spiral Diner and Cinnaholics.

Blessings until next month.