Several new movies being released this fall feature individuals and families facing illness and death.

One receiving a great deal of positive attention from critics and moviegoers alike is 50/50, the story of a twenty-something coping with cancer. Based on screenwriter Will Reiser's own experience with cancer, the movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role and Seth Rogen as his funny and supportive friend. For…

As anyone with an eye for pink has deduced, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here in Chicago, the night skyline – from the Hancock Building to the Willis Tower (a.k.a. the Sears Tower) – is aglow with rose-colored lights. These blush beacons are reminders of the loved ones lost and the work yet to be done to understand, combat and prevent breast cancer.

The displays of pink that appear each October are intended to draw attention to breast cancer, but they…

Last week, Canada lost a national heroine. Betty Fox began her time in the spotlight simply as the mother of one of Canada's best-remembered heroes, Terry Fox, who, after being diagnosed with cancer in his late teens, attempted to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. An amazing story made all the more…