Three sisters, Stephanie Cone and her sisters Terri and Kim Meche, underwent genetic testing and learned that they each carried a gene that made them susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer.  They chose to be proactive with this news – all three had double mastectomies on the same day at the University of Washington Medical Center.  They were on the Today show to tell their story.

As it turns out, none of them had cancer but their mother battled breast, colorectal and ovarian cancer for more than 15 years and eight other relatives had had cancer, including her mother, grandmother and six sisters.

“We wanted to be preventive,” Kim Meche said to Today anchor, Meredith Vieira.

“This is an amazing trio of women — very strong women,” Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor, told Vieira. “These smart women sat down and said, ‘You know, the pieces of the puzzle look like we might be at risk.’ And then they did two very smart things: They went in to get blood tests and they sat down with a genetic counselor. There has to be a very methodical approach to this.”

Terri and Stephanie, who have five children between them, had hysterectomies after their mother was treated for ovarian cancer.  Kim did not have the surgery and was diagnosed several years later with ovarian cancer. When doctors went in to remove it, they found her fallopian tubes had also become cancerous.

The story stressed that despite the fact these women tested positive for the gene, it didn’t necessarily mean that they were guaranteed a diagnosis of cancer.  Further, the reverse is true – not having the gene doesn’t guarantee safety either.

It’s a very complicated issue and, in their situation, I suppose I would want to get tested in order to know where I stand.  These three women are very brave.

The self-proclaimed "Queen of All Media," celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, was on The View this morning to discuss the top stories of 2007.  I find him entertaining but I think he’s kidding himself when he says that the media cannot be considered partially responsible for the demise of certain celebrities.  We can probably all relate to being in trouble at home and having a "rival" sibling or cousin (or something) who just adds to your troubles when they point out everything you do wrong.  It can make things so much worse and I think the paparazzi and writers like Perez can be included in this.  For example, I’ve seen articles published after singer Courtney Love went into rehab saying things like "can she really stay clean?"  It’s just not fair.

Anyway, take a look at some of the things Perez and the ladies from The View had to say:

Singer Mary J Blige was on The View this morning and she performed her new song, "Just Fine."  I love the energy she brings whenever she performs that song and it really gave me a boost this morning.  Then she sang "The Christmas Song."

Here are the videos of her being interviewed and performing the two song – enjoy!

More after the jump!

Read more

Here’s a look at what’s on today!

Technorati Tags: on,dr phil,ellen,ellen degeneres,martha,martha stewart,oprah winfrey,oprah,rachael ray,rachel ray,regis and kelly,kelly ripa,the view,tyra,tyra banks,tyra show,november,2007