One would think that when a breast cancer patient approaches the end of her treatment, anticipation and relief would buoy her.

For me, however, the cancer and the accompanying treatments, injections, exhaustion, nausea, terror, constipation, body aches, weight gain, blah, blah, blah, etc. – ALL while teaching school fulltime and keeping house and remembering to feed the cats – wore me down. I was going through the experience pretty much alone. My parents were dead, my brother lived thousands of miles away, and I had no husband or significant other.

The case of Nadia Bloom, the Florida girl who wandered off into the swamp and was lost for five days, had a happy ending. But for families caring for an elderly parent with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, or a child with autism,  the case highlights a common fear—that their loved one will wander off or get lost while they're not being directly attended to.

With an Oscar on her mantel and the right to use "Dame" before her name, Helen Mirren definitely doesn't need to strip down for the camera to publicize her latest movie.  But when you look as good as she does at 65, why wouldn't you?  The British actress has caused quite a stir by posing naked, soapy breasts quite visible through bathwater, in the latest issue of New York magazine (you can see it on the magazine's website).  The photos, shot by artsy fashion photographer Juergen Teller, have an understated quality that helps Mirren come off as in control and anything but desperate for attention.  They're arrestingly beautiful and beg the question, how the hell does she look better than many 45 year olds?

Telemarketers are relentless about targeting older people. But healthy seniors are actually quite savvy about detecting scams. If your mom or dad has gotten snookered, it may be a sign of dementia.