Since 1991, Hall has been standing strong alongside her mother, Dorothy Sworob, as she toughed out four bouts of metastatic breast cancer. Originally given just two months, 83-year-old Sworob has now outlived her grim prognosis by more than 16 years.

Today, Hall is toughing out her own case of breast cancer: a lump that had already spread to one lymph node by the time she discovered it while lifting some pots in her garden. She has had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, which is scheduled to end today.

"I have a lot of experience. I went through all of it with my mother," Hall said.

Both were diagnosed at 65. "Same age." She sighed.

"But it's different when it's you."

When it's you facing a cancer diagnosis, finding your way past the fear is Job No. 1.

Despite an overall survival rate that has climbed to 66 percent, cancer is still the disease that scares people most, said Dr. Richard Wender, chairman of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and immediate past president of the American Cancer Society.

If you or someone you love is grappling with the disease - the American Cancer Society estimates that 70,110 Pennsylvanians will be diagnosed this year - Wender said it's important to know that times have changed. "We've turned the tide. Death rates are coming down. They peaked in 1991, and they've been coming down since."

Screenings often catch the disease at an earlier, more easily curable stage. That's one of the major victories in the war on cancer that Richard Nixon launched in 1971.

And breakthroughs like robotic surgery, customized chemotherapy and GPS-style guided radiation mean that cancer treatment is far less punishing than it was even 10 years ago.

Don't let old war stories from the cancer wards rattle you, advised Dr. Joseph Carver, chief of staff at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center: Side effects like nausea from chemotherapy are "so much less than what people have heard from family members who were treated years ago."

Job No. 2 when you're hit with cancer is to learn all you can.

Studies show troubling gaps in cancer care - especially for blacks and for people who are uninsured, underinsured or covered by public insurance. This February, doctors at Yale reported that disadvantaged cancer patients aren't getting some basic life-saving treatments, such as the course of radiation therapy that should usually follow lumpectomy for breast cancer.

When it's you facing cancer, getting up-to-date, trustworthy information is key. And because of the fear factor and the sometimes mind-boggling options for treatment, "It's normal to need information repeated," said Joanne Hambleton, vice president of nursing and patient services at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

This section is designed to put basic information in your hands about cancer care, prevention and screening.

"If you're diagnosed, have some idea what you're up against," Wender advised. The rarer your cancer is and the tougher it is for doctors to decide among treatment options, the better off you are in the hands of a specialist who has treated many cases.

With a common and straightforward case, "you can take advantage of some convenience and stay closer to home," Wender said. In a complicated fight for your life, "I would put up with whatever inconvenience you're going to have to deal with to make sure you're fighting with the right allies."

A call to the American Cancer Society's live, 24-hour help line (800-227-2345) can help you know where you stand, he said.

After your doctor presents a treatment plan, don't be shy about seeking a second opinion. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it's a common step in cancer care - some insurance plans actually require a second doctor to weigh in - and a good doctor shouldn't take offense. "You want to get two options," said Dr. Avi Lebenthal, a surgeon at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Our section also is designed to tamp down the fear factor.

When it's you facing cancer, it can be reassuring to know that every day right here in Philadelphia some of the best minds in the medical business are going after the disease with a vengeance - and with a wide array of sophisticated anti-cancer technology.

For example, cold-pack boxes bearing tumors from children across the U.S. and the world are delivered to a robotic lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

There, the robot and a team of human handlers at the Center for Applied Genomics - possibly your neighbors - are scanning the tumors' DNA to find the Achilles' heel of a cancer called neuroblastoma that afflicts infants.

"The kids are giving us the answers," said Dr. John Maris, director of cancer research for the hospital. "They're in the tumors."

Across the street, Penn Medicine is installing a 220-ton, Belgian-built proton accelerator that, theoretically (the science is too new for definitive results), should be able to deliver cancer-killing radiation with less collateral damage to normal cells.

Philadelphia is a world center for cancer research and treatment, with four prestigious NCI-designated cancer centers: Fox Chase, Penn's Abramson Cancer Center, Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center and the research-only Wistar Institute.

One of our guys, Craig Jordan, was the first to discover that tamoxifen could prevent breast cancer. He's a Texan by birth, a near knight in England and director for medical science at Fox Chase. Another local lab leader, Wistar's Louise Showe, has a blood test in the works that could catch lung cancer when it's early and curable.

When it's you facing cancer, you'll be called upon for your own heroics. The message from the patients and survivors in these pages is that, if called, you'll find the wherewithal to serve.

"It isn't over with. You can do it. You can do it," Hall said.

"It's very important to have a positive attitude. That's very important. They told my mother she'd never walk again. She said, 'Oh, yes I will.' "

Hall's mother, Dorothy Sworob who gets around very ably with a walker, has been standing strong alongside her daughter through her treatments - recently, with the help of a street crew that's repaving Hall's block. Apparently, when it's you facing cancer in Philadelphia, you should keep your eyes peeled for unlikely angels.

"My mother has trouble getting to the car, so the workmen help her," Hall said.

The other day, she said, "I'm bringing the car around and here's one of the guys in the hard hats carrying her handbag and helping her down the street. He's holding the handbag in one arm and holding her in another."

When cancer hits you, personally, Hall said, "you feel - I don't know how to describe it - you feel, 'This can't be. I've been through so much of it.' "

But she has never felt helpless or alone, she said. "You know what? I live in South Philly. I have wonderful neighbors." *