Flowers can lift spirits, brighten days, and heal hurting souls. They can actually make us healthier too. And while there is not a lot of science backing this fact just yet, it's long been understood that flowers really do help us Get Well Soon.

In ancient Egypt, physicians ordered walks in gardens for patients with psychological problems. Currently, horticultural therapy is a well-established method of rehabilitation for patients with physical and mental difficulties. Medical institutions all over have created flowering spaces intended as therapeutic gardens. One study determined that 100 percent of women presented with a flower bouquet reacted with a genuine smile that involves the eyes and the mouth and indicates changes in the brain. There was no such common happiness reaction among women presented with other gifts. Further studies found that men also reacted positively to flowers. A study of cardiac patients found flower therapy improved mood and lowered heart rates, possibly reducing stress that contributes to heart disease. It seems some patients seem to forget about their pain when strolling through gardens. They forget about their pain medication too. One flower expert's research brightened her own world at a time when chemotherapy and surgery for breast cancer had her feeling pretty low. Studying flowers gave her a whole new, brighter look at the world.

Flower therapy includes almost any contact with plants. Color, texture, and scent all play a part in the relaxation and healing that results from a little flower time. Why it works is a mystery -- it could be that we associate flowers with pleasure, that flowers fulfill emotional needs, that they are the pets of the horticultural world. We breed them for traits that please us and then capitalize on how they lighten the load and enhance our moods.

The bottom line is this -- we just don't know exactly why or exactly how flowers do what they do. We just know intuitively that they work, that they spread hope and renewal and peace like nothing else.

For more information on the healing power of flowers, pick up a copy of the November 2006 issue of The Oprah Magazine.

I have had a hard time keeping my counseling appointments lately. Life keeps getting in the way, and counseling keeps getting pushed to the side. The last time I called my counselor to cancel -- due to an emergency room trip with my three-year-old -- I mentioned that my inability to keep up with sessions was perhaps a precursor to an eventual termination of our counseling relationship. My counselor -- Lindsay -- said this was maybe an accurate assessment, that we should discuss the possibility of an ending point. We haven't yet discussed it, though, because I have not made the time to contact her. I have continued to leave counseling on the back burner.

But today Lindsay sent me an e-mail to check in. She wrote that I am probably going to be okay on my own now -- in the aftermath of cancer -- and that we should have one final session to reflect on my progress over the past 16 months. I have not replied to Lindsay -- not because I am busy with other things but simply because her words made me cry. They still make me cry, hours later. I'm not exactly sure why. And I'm not exactly sure how I will follow up on scheduling my very last session.

I assume my tears -- my sadness -- are part of the healing process, part of the separation anxiety I feel each time a part of my treatment ends and a part of my life moves on. I assume I am sad at the prospect of leaving a vital part of my recovery behind, about leaving the comfort of my counseling chair, about leaving Lindsay. The possibilities are endless. And I suppose we will cover all possibilities when Lindsay and I sit down for our last, final, concluding session -- when we recall how much I have grown since the day we first met, when I could barely mutter a word about cancer without weeping uncontrollably, when I could barely manage to find pleasure in my days, when I could barely imagine that life could -- and would -- offer me peace and happiness.

Today, life is good. And it's clear that counseling is no longer necessary for my survival. But that doesn't make it any easier to make my final appointment. To contemplate saying my last goodbye. To tackle life completely on my own. Which is what I will do -- in time -- so I can continue moving on, away from breast cancer.

Tomorrow is Independence Day. And I have been thinking all day today about all the freedom I have in my life at this exact moment in time. I have had the fortunate luxury to live for my entire life in the land of the free and the home of the brave -- to enjoy the pleasure of a country that is defended by courageous and selfless service men and woman and where I have opportunities that area boundless. I have had for the past five a half years the glorious freedom to stay at home with my children -- and the freedom, thanks to my husband who works to support us all, to avoid an all-encompassing and potentially stressful career. And recently, I have been enjoying two new freedoms -- one thanks to my three-year-old son who decided that he could in fact use the potty which has afforded me the thrilling freedom from changing diapers, smelling diapers, buying diapers, storing diapers, carrying diapers. He is my youngest child and his major feat has truly set me free from a way of life that has lingered on and on. But even more liberating than this -- which still is huge in my book -- is my new freedom from an almost-two-year journey through cancer treatment. My last infusion of cancer-fighting drugs sailed through my veins last week and I am now free to live my days without constant medical intervention. It's a freedom not all cancer patients get. A freedom I have never known. A freedom I will not take for granted, will not ever forget, will not ever stop enjoying. And while I will give special consideration to my freedom on each Independence Day that follows this one, I will really feel grateful each and every day for the independence that fills my world. It's a gift I would never return, never trade, never discard. It's a gift of a lifetime.

I'm not much of a cook -- I don't like to cook, I don't cook well, and I am never really enticed to spend any amount of time in the kitchen preparing food. So my husband picks up my slack much of the time. Tonight he made turkey meatballs with rice and green peppers -- and some other veggie side dishes too -- and he cooks pasta and grills chicken and can successfully feed our family of four without hesitation or frustration. For me, cooking, hesitation, and frustration all roll into one. And that's why I avoid anything of the culinary persuasion and thank my lucky stars for a husband who doesn't mind cooking endeavors. But sometimes, I am forced to enter the kitchen -- I have two growing boys who need to eat, after all, and I am the one mostly at home catering to their every need. So I do okay -- I try to maintain a healthily family menu and I can handle the basics and no one is really complaining so I guess I'm holding my own. But I'd like to find more pleasure in cooking -- and more variety and more creativity too. Perhaps free weekly recipes sent to my e-mail inbox would be a push in the right direction.

The American Institute for Cancer Research offers this service, and I am just moments away from subscribing to this offering that was started by a cancer group who sends out to anyone who signs up free recipes that are mostly lowfat, high-fiber, and plant-based. Launched just several months ago, this service already has more than 10,000 subscribers -- and many are cancer survivors who have learned to make everything from cherry spritzers to brown rice pudding to sweet potato and peanut chili. A name and e-mail address is all it takes to get the ball rolling -- just visit www.aicr.org and look for the health-e-recipes area.  Soon, simple and nutritious recipes will be at your fingertips. And at mine too. Unless I decide to pass them off to my husband.

This morning I found Planet Cancer, a site for young adults with cancer, that has a wide variety of topics. I clicked on one forum containing a line of chat that was labeled as just too steamy to mention. Curiosity got the better of me and of course I clicked. Indeed it was a bit randy in a certain Seinfield episode sort of way. Apparently some cancer patients believe that a bit of 'self loving' helps to increase their platelet counts. I poked around on Google and was unable to locate any scientific data supporting the 'self loving' theory.  But the individuals posting on the forum claimed that their platelet levels doubled, their white counts increased and even their hemoglobin levels increased, all within just a few days. When asked by their doctors just how they got such amazing results, most of the commentors were not willing to 'fess up' and admit the truth. But this unconventional method seemed to work for them, gave them some happiness and raised their spirits. When all is said and done, that is a good thing. I never know quite what I will encounter while researching for posts.