We want to take this opportunity to remember the beautiful life and spirit of a very special person that we were so fortunate to have gotten to know throughout this project. Her name is Bette Martin, and she passed away after her long battle with cancer.

You can read Bette’s obituary here.

Bette was enthusiastic about the mission of Facing Cancer Together from the beginning, and openly shared her story in the hopes that others would find some courage to face their own situation with hope.

Her humor, beauty, thoughtfulness, creativity and spirituality were inspiring to many of us who followed her story in the blogs that she wrote.

She helped to illustrate the fear that a person really faces when they hear the words: “You have cancer,” and the inner struggle that a person experiences when you're faced with a new perspective on how to live.

She wrote in her blog titled, "How now shall I live?":
"My relationship with God has been strengthened and continues to grow. I think that the timing of events since the diagnosis has confirmed God’s presence in my life. Evidence of divine intervention has been instrumental in clarifying my trust in God’s love and concern for me. There is much more growth needed in this area of my life. I thank the Creator every morning that I open my eyes and see the light of another day, allowing for the development of a deeper relationship with Him."

She helped others who were facing cancer know that they’re not alone in their fight and talked openly about wearing a wig, and how cancer affects body image.

She taught us to explore what’s out there, like alternative therapies for mind and body healing, and to tap into our spirituality for strength and guidance.

We thankBette for her honesty, courage, and partnership.

She will be deeply missed but her story will live on in the countless people that she touched throughout her life.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Bette's family and friends.

-The Facing Cancer Together team

“As we move to a Digital Age for healthcare technology, specifically for medical records and health information exchange, it requires a different workforce,” explains Martin Ciccocioppo, Vice President of Research with the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

“An e-Patient is someone that is empowered, engaged, equipped, and enabled,” says Christine Amy from Aligning Forces for Quality --- South Central Pennsylvania.

Tobacco has been a cash crop since the time of exploration of the Americas, to the establishment of the colonies and on through our time of independence. Pennsylvania has a strong heritage in agriculture. And, if you drive through Lancaster County today you’ll see lots of fields where tobacco is growing.

Dr. Shou Ling Leong, an educator at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, explains that smoking cigarettes in the past was something that only men did, not women and children. But clever advertising campaigns targeted to women and children changed that.

“For me, the most exciting part of the Digital Age in health care is the potential we have to help people understand and have more control of their health care,” says Dr. Karen Jones, an Internist & Medical Director for Quality and Innovation at WellSpan Health.

In the video below, Dr. Dennis Gingrich, an educator at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, provides a brief history of smoking and the changes that have been made as a society to discourage smoking in public spaces.