The Cancer Connection

Last year nearly 200,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. One of them was Marci Waldman, The Early Show's unit manager.

How Waldman dealt with breast cancer is a story of four strangers, who became friends - a group of breast cancer patients from around the country who met on the Internet.

In a six-part series titled, "The Cancer Connection" The Early Show will profile the women from Waldman's team. Monday, Waldman told us her journey, understanding and accepting her diagnosis, learning about treatment options and coping with the disease.

On Tuesday, her Web-friend Lori Dixon talks about chemotherapy radiation treatment after having a lumpectomy surgery. Dixon, who is in her mid-40s, says her Internet family helped her make the decision about treatment options. She is from Brookline, N.H.

Wednesday, 39-year-old Stacey Sforza from Philadelphia, Pa., discusses her treatment decisions in overcoming breast cancer. She also expresses her concern with the connection between breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Thursday, Shirley Bubel, who is in her late 60s, explains the anxiety that naturally comes with a "clean" bill of health. Bubel has shown no evidence of the disease for more than four years. She is from San Diego, Calif.

On Friday, all four women will meet for the first time in The Early Show studio in New York City.

And on Saturday, online contributor Regina Lewis visits us to discuss materials and books available on the Internet as well as breast cancer support groups and resource sites.