What does it mean to change the way you look?

This is not simply a case of losing weight or adding highlights to your hair. This is putting it out there for all the world to see. This is making a bold statement about who you are, what you stand for and what you plan to do about it.

This is the new logo launched just a week ago by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. And, did you see the way I wrote MD Anderson? That's part of the new editorial standards that go along with the new look.

What now appears is a brand that lets everyone know that MD Anderson fully intends to eliminate cancer from our lives. With a bold swash of a red pen, we are striking out cancer. That's what we're all about - mounting the forces of research, treatment, technology and care to just get rid of this disease.

There are some who say that cancer will not ever be eliminated, but will become a condition that one learns to live with - something like what has happened to diabetes, which is still a bad thing to have, still something that can eventually kill you if you don't take care of yourself, but still something you can live with.

In fact, many people are already doing that today with cancer - they live with it. Of course, some people do not survive the scourge, but many others do. They continue with medication, regular checks and treatments, but they are still here. Some choose to improve their diets by eating organic or foods filled with cancer-fighting antioxidants. Some add exercise and movement to their daily routines. Others are convinced that their positive attitudes have much to do with their continued good health. But, at the end of the day, they do still have cancer.

With the red strike-out of the word "Cancer," MD Anderson is saying to all who will listen that making this disease go away is what this institution is all about. With the sweep of a red pen, it is gone, out of our lives forever.

Isn't that an amazing goal? I believe this is an exemplary thing to strive for. And, since I'm a cancer patient myself, I'm glad that MD Anderson has let us all in on the plans for the future.

MD Anderson is Making Cancer History®. I'm delighted to be a part of that effort.