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Cancer 101: Survivor's 'Guide' To Breast Cancer

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Nov 18, 2008 8:03 pm US/Eastern

Cancer 101: Survivor's 'Guide' To Breast Cancer

Reporting
Kate Sullivan
NEW YORK (CBS) ― It's estimated that nearly 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. For each, that means entering a frightening new world of unknowns and uncertainties. All those questions prompted one survivor to set out to create a guide to their disease.

"When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I was 36-years-old," says Monica Knoll, breast cancer survivor and creator Cancer101.org. "I was working in a very busy, intensive office and fighting a cancer at the same time. When I was diagnosed in a major metropolitan city, I had no idea where or what was available to me.

Knoll, now 44, used the experience of her own personal journey of fighting cancer to help others.

"It gave me a passion for helping others that I didn't have before my diagnosis," she told CBS 2.

So Knoll created Cancer101.org. In a tiny New York office, she oversees the not-for-profit Web site that offers newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients a comprehensive planning resource to help manage their disease.

"This kit is given to cancer centers and advocacy organizations to give to cancer patients and their caregivers, right when they are diagnosed," says Knoll.

There's a pocketed folder that contains a three-ring binder with a dozen tabbed sections filled with vital information. Inside is an explanation of the planner in a half-dozen languages, a place for notes and business cards, a calendar for appointments, a ledger for medical bills among other valuable resources.

"You need to understand the terminology and it's right here at your fingertips," says Knoll. "When I was diagnosed I had stacks and stacks of medical bills and it was impossible to keep track of."

Incredibly, Knoll herself is battling cancer again, for the third time.

"I have to say I learned how to live my life after the first round of cancer. I didn't need to have it two more times, though I don't know of too many people that are as good at fighting it the way I fight it," she said.

And now her visits with medical professionals include consultations on her planner too.

"I always say I was not sorry I was diagnosed with cancer. That sounds crazy, but a lot of people who have been diagnosed feel the same way I do," she said. "It gives me a whole new appreciation and perspective to my life."

The planner is given away free at participating cancer centers, or is available on line for only a shipping charge. And the goal is to expand the planner to include resources in other cities and to be applicable to other cancers as well.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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