There have been all kinds of suggestions and all forms of advice. When you're a public figure, as Houston's Steve Francis most certainly is, you are in the crosshairs for just about everything.

Even your health.

	Steve Francis returned from migraine attacks on Jan. 18 to post the fourth triple-double of his career against Boston.

The Rockets' franchise guard has been suffering all season from what are thought to be migraines. He has missed five games and several practices because of the on-again, off-again condition. He has no idea when they will strike, how long they will last, or how severe they will be.

But he is not at a loss for possible cures.

Trainer Keith Jones of the Rockets, who is the repository for Francis' migraine cure suggestions, has received phone calls, e-mails and letters, all from well-intentioned strangers offering remedies. This isn't surprising. When Larry Bird had his back woes a decade ago, the Celtics were flooded with ideas as well. Trainer Ed Lacerte doesn't recall many, but he said the bulk of them "had to do with appliances."

As for Francis, Jones says the most original suggestion came from an elderly lady in Louisiana. "She must be about 91," Jones said. "Somehow, she called and got right through." The woman said she, too, had suffered from migraines and that her mother had the perfect cure. The daughter would be sent to a dark room to lie down and then her mother would place a towel soaked in refrigerated vinegar over her forehead.

"She said she still does it today," Jones said. "And she says it works."

Francis hasn't tried anything quite like that yet, but he's done just about everything else. He has seen doctors in Houston, Austin, Washington and Dallas. He has talked to former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who suffered through his fair share of headaches from numerous game-related concussions.

No one has been able to pinpoint the cause. His plight even prompted a story in the Houston Chronicle about the number of famous people who also suffered from migraines. Among them, Thomas Jefferson, actress Lisa Kudrow, model Elle MacPherson and Scottie Pippen.

Francis has had MRIs and CT scans and is being seen now by a neurotherapist who has recommended changes in diet as well as sleeping habits (stay on one side, if possible) and everyday, non-basketball things.

"For instance," Jones said. "If you drop a fork off the table, don't immediately lunge over to pick it up. Do it slowly and don't jerk the head. Avoid real quick movements. Stuff like that."

Francis is game for just about anything. Well, almost anything. He had scheduled a trip this week to the Mayo Clinic outside Minneapolis for even more tests. Then, at the last moment, he cancelled it. After Monday's workout, he said he simply felt that he should stay in Houston and keep playing. After all, he had missed a number of practices when he was ailing. How could he miss one when he wasn't?

"Whether it's the right thing or the wrong thing, who's to judge that? My gut feeling is it's the best thing," he told reporters.

Only two days earlier, however, he had missed a morning shootaround because of another attack. But he made it to the game that night and came close to a triple-double in a 10-point win over the Celtics.

"I feel bad for him as a person," Jones said. "Every day, not knowing what's going to happen? That's hard. But he deals with it and tries to keep a good attitude. Some days are good and others are not so good. But he's done everything we've asked him to do."

Francis clearly is tired of talking about the migraines, although he also understands it's a daily story because he is, well, day-to-day. (Or, perhaps more accurately, hour-to-hour.) "It's been difficult at times," he said.

When he showed up before the Celtics game, after missing the morning shootaround, he was asked if he was going to be able to play.

"If I wasn't going to play," he said, "I wouldn't have come."

He played. He wasn't up to his All-Star form that night (3-of-15 shooting, seven turnovers), but he was there and that makes all the difference. You can make a case, although you might have trouble selling it, that this guy is a deserving candidate for Most Valuable Player. He has missed 21 games this season, five due to migraines and 16 due to a foot injury. The Rockets are 2-19 in those games. They are 18-16 when he suits up.

	“	I keep getting advice from people who know this doctor or that doctor. Tons of people have called offering just about anything you can think of. But I've been prospering through it so far. I just hope to keep prospering. ”
		— Steve Francis, Rockets guard

"He makes everyone around him better," marveled Celtics coach Jim O'Brien.

He's also going to be the best player you're not going to see in the playoffs, in part because of those 21 absences and the Rockets' inability to win without him.

You'll see Shaq and Kobe. You'll see KG and Tim Duncan. You'll see the Answer and TMac and Dirk and CWebb.

But you're not going to see the guy who, arguably, has more impact on his team than any other player in the league. Last year, he led the Rockets in total points, rebounds and assists. This year, he is leading them in scoring, rebounding and assists per game, but, because of the many games he has missed, you don't see him on any scoring lists.

And, let's not forget, he's 6-foot-3 in a big-man's game and in a world, where, according to Bill Walton, "everything under 6-10 is small."

But migraines don't discriminate against tall people or small people. They are now as much a part of Francis' everyday life as eating, sleeping and playing basketball. They keep their own schedule, however, which is the most frustrating part of it all.

His situation also will continue to elicit remedies and cures from well-wishing fans. Those, like the migraines, are also regular occurrences. The faith healers have weighed in. The self-help people have called. He knows you're out there.

"I keep getting advice from people who know this doctor or that doctor," Francis said. "Tons of people have called offering just about anything you can think of. But I've been prospering through it so far. I just hope to keep prospering."

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.