The Grand opening at the new Piedmont West facility this past weekend was wonderful! Big thanks to my friends and River listeners who came out to support me and the event. The new Cancer Wellness Center is truly a remarkable place -- please remember to refer people to it if they are finding themselves in need of mind, body and spiritual resources and support during cancer treatment. Almost all the services are free, and it doesn't matter where one lives in metro Atlanta to take advantage of them. The Wellness Center is not only for patients -- it's for loved ones, too!

I had a great experience co-hosting a cooking class at The Cancer Wellness Center with author, chef, and cancer survivor, Hans Rueffert. I must tell you more about him as I was very impressed with him and his story. Hans' father is a chef, and his family has owned The Woodbridge Inn in Jasper since 1976. I remember him from the first season of "The Next Food Network Star" a few years ago -- Hans came in third, and was the "Viewer's Choice" to win, so he's a memorable guy! Just two weeks after his stint on The Food Network, Hans was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer. He lost half his stomach and esophagus -- and 70 pounds since -- quite ironic for a chef, and Hans will be the first one to crack a good joke about that! While he was in the hospital for many weeks recovering, he began writing his book which came out earlier this year, "Eat Like There's No Tomorrow." It's a beautiful book -- much more than a cookbook -- obviously a labor of love as Hans and his wife took all the photos that accompany his story and recipes, and there are many pictures of his children and lovely family. I bought 9 autographed copies as Christmas gifts (and have since thought of several more people I need to get one for,) along with bottles of his own brand of spices. You can see them all on his website, hanscooks.com, where you'll also find a link to his blog. Hans helped design the amazing kitchen at Piedmont's Cancer Wellness Center, and often teaches free cooking classes there where you get to sample his culinary delights and get great info from Hans' own experiences. Check the piedmontcancer.org Wellness Calendar to find out when Hans will be teaching his next class. In the meantime, if you need some inspiration, see how a surivior flourishes during and following a crisis by visiting Hans' website. I am so glad to have had the experience to get to know him and his parents a bit this past weekend, and I look forward to working with him again in the future!