Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a huge shocker, and like grief, people respond in different ways. But I hope it's not common for people to respond like this woman in Quebec City, who committed suicide by setting herself on fire on the day her chemo treatments were set to begin. She burned herself beyond recognition in a car alongside two propane tanks. Next to the the vehicle, police found some personal affects and a suicide note.

Apparently, this is not unheard of, as people are often at risk of suicide after receiving bad news. Still, considering all the advances that are happening each day in the medical field, it's a shame that she couldn't stick around to have her hope and health restored. My thoughts go out to her family.

Hope is a complex concept and one that is often misunderstood by many people including health care professionals. Many people tend to interchange the terms of wishing, optimism, and hope, but the three have significant differences.

Wishing is usually specific in that you wish for something you desire. It is positive in nature. Optimism emphasizes the positive aspects of a situation and is considered to be a positive trait. Both of these have places in our lives but to live with a disease like cancer and to get through treatments, navigate health care systems, and to overcome society's negative views about cancer as a death sentence, a person must have a strong sense of hope.

In stumbling upon an article published by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship written by Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD entitled "You Have The Right To Be Hopeful", I realized that without this inner strength, this determined will power, this drive, that hope creates, there would be a lot less survivors in this disease. It is a good read and I am passing along the link to the free PDF file for others to enjoy and learn from.

1. Hope constitutes an essential experience in the human condition.
2. Hope means desirability of personal survival and the ability of the individual to exert a degree of influence on the surrounding world.
3. Hope is necessary for healthy coping.
4. Hope is a cognitive affective resource that is a psychological asset.
5. Hope is a mental willpower and is a sense of mental energy that helps move a person toward a goal.

It's been reported that procrastination is on the rise. Not only that, but it makes people poorer, fatter, and unhappier too.

It took 10 years of research when it was projected to take only five years -- procrastination at its best -- to come to this conclusion. And now Canadian industrial psychologist and University of Calgary professor Piers Steel is talking about his giant 30-page study that appears in this month's Psychological Bulletin.

Something must be done about this problem, says Steel, who reveals 26 percent of the American public consider themselves chronic procrastinators. This is up from five percent in 1978 and is likely due to the tempting diversions facing us in this day and age -- TVs, cell phones, video games, iPods, the Internet, and Blackberries.

It's no surprise with such temptations that a quarter of Americans say they procrastinate. When it comes to the sexes, men are worse than women -- about 54 out of 100 chronic procrastinators are men -- and the young are more like to procrastinate than the old. Three out of four college students consider themselves procrastinators. And it seems perfectionists procrastinate less because they don't like to delay.

Steel says procrastination wastes time. And it's costly too.

"The U.S. gross national product would probably rise by $50 billion if the icon and sound that notifies people of new e-mail suddenly disappear," he said.

Steel found a delay in filing taxes on average costs a person $400 a year. Last-minute Christmas shopping with credit cards was five times higher in 1999 than in 1991. Clearly, procrastination is expensive.

Procrastination also has physical and emotional costs. Procrastinators tend to be less healthy, less wealthy, and less happy. They are also harder to heal of their problems than alcoholics.

Steel, who plans to one day compare the procrastination practices in various countries and cultures, says his field has benefits. The more he knows about the problem, the less he indulges in delay tactics. He did, however, acknowledge that his study was completed five years late. But what he likes about this study is this -- "If you take a day off from it, you can always say it's field research."

From houseplants to raised beds, to plant a seed, tend the soil, and watch a plant grow is one of the most inspiringly hopeful of activities. In hopefulness is found a kind of healing. According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, horticulture therapy is defined as "a process utilizing plants and horticultural activities to improve social, educational, psychological and physical adjustment of persons thus improving their body, mind, and spirit." The American Cancer Society offers a list of some of horticulture therapy benefits one can expect from gardening that include:

• Feelings of hope.
• Stress reduction.
• Social interaction.
• Pain relief.
• Improved muscle tone, flexibility, and cardiopulmonary capability.
• Creativity and self-expression.
• Enhanced self-esteem and improved mood.
• Motor skill development.
  

As the New Year arrives, so do the gardening catalogs in the mail. Interested in receiving gardening catalogs but not certain where to start? Cyndi's Catalog of Garden Catalogs lists over 2,000 mail-order gardening catalogs for the home gardener.

Two of my favorite gardening websites and online catalogs are found at Seeds of Change and Seed Savers Exchange.

At Seeds of Change, you can find garden seeds, seed collections, cover crops, seedlings, fruit trees, garden tools, kitchen items, and a bookstore. All organic. In addition, Seeds of Change publishes a newsletter.

Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit organization that saves and shares heirloom seeds. According to Seed Savers Exchange, "Our organization is saving the world's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity."

But, wherever you start, once you catch the gardening bug, you will understand why horticulture therapy is becoming an integrated part in healing programs adopted at some of the medical centers across the country.

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.

It may be possible to learn happiness -- like we might learn to cook or learn to dance -- by merely taking a class. Some refute this idea and believe you can't actually pursue happiness. You either have it or you don't. But some psychologists are embracing a whole new approach to psychology -- they call it positive psychology -- and they say it focuses on training the mind to focus on the past as very positive. It's completely different from traditional psychology where time is spent trying to determine why someone is so horribly sad. This movement, invented by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman in 1998 when he was president of the American Psychological Association, provides a scientific validated set of exercises -- known as interventions -- that lead happiness seekers to their ultimate destination.

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers have confirmed what more than a few cancer patients have personally believed for some time now. Stress increases cancer growth and finding ways to relax and reduce stress is beneficial to cancer survivorship.

In a preclinical study carried out on mice with ovarian cancer, researchers found that cancerous tumors grew and spread faster when the mice were experiencing increased levels of stress. According to the researchers, the conclusion of this study is the first definitive link between psychological stress and the biological processes that make ovarian tumors grow and spread. It appears stress hormones bind to receptors directly on tumor cells and, in turn, stimulate new blood vessel growth and other factors that lead to faster and more aggressive tumors.

"The concept of stress hormone receptors directly driving cancer growth is very new," said Dr. Anil Sood, the study's senior author. "Not much had been known about how often these receptors are expressed in cancer, and more importantly, whether they had any functional significance. Our research opens a new area of investigation."

The good news in this -- besides the fact that this study begins to validate what cancer survivors have been saying for years in the personal belief of the link between stress and cancer -- is that stress can be controlled and reduced by lifestyle changes and medication. In fact, the researchers found a beta blocker heart medication effectively blocked the adverse effect stress hormones had on tumor growth.

This could open new areas of research. Indeed, Dr. Sood and his team will continue to research the role of stress in cancer and examine the effects of stress hormones on cancers besides ovarian cancer. To read more about the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center preclinical study, go here.

It's a shocking statistic. In another four years, one out of every 250,000 people will be a survivor of childhood cancer. As any cancer survivor will tell you, even after you have gone through treatment and cancer is in remission, cancer is never far away from your mind. It's not that cancer consumes the day, but the reality of cancer is something you cannot escape. For childhood cancer survivors, most of the attention to cancer has been on saving lives, and not so much on long-term survivor issues. Cancer is not merely a physical disease. Cancer affects cancer survivors of all ages emotionally and psychologically. Childhood cancer survivors face special issues specific to age, such as growth and development problems and damage to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys from the aggressive cancer treatments often prescribed for children diagnosed with cancer.

According to the experts, cancer survivors should ask the following questions after completing their treatment in creating a roadmap for long-term cancer survival:

• What treatments and drugs have I been given?
• Do I need to seek follow-up care?
• Will I get cancer again?
• What should I do to maintain my health and well-being?
• Will I feel different physically?
• Will I have trouble getting health insurance or keeping a job?
• Are there support groups I can turn to?
• Who on the cancer care team will monitor my care?
  

As more awareness is brought to the unique issues facing childhood cancer survivors as they enter adult life, the support and resources will become more readily available -- but until then, they travel mostly alone.

There is no major test or screening tool or exam that reveals the definite presence of cancer in the body. There are mammograms that can detect suspicious masses in the breast and there is a blood test that might raise concerns about the health of ovaries and there are various x-rays and scans that allow doctors to peek into the intricacies of the human body -- and some tests, like the mammogram clearly do save lives -- but some tests that seem harmless can damage the psyche while accomplishing little else.

I asked my oncologist how he would know if my breast cancer returns. He said I will receive regular mammograms and ultrasounds of my breasts. And he will perform in-office exams every few months. He will complete a breast exam and will feel my neck for enlarged lymph nodes. He will listen to my lungs and feel my stomach. But largely, he will rely on me to report symptoms and signs and complaints -- because these are the true indicators that something is amiss.

I imagined myself getting a whole host of tests on my whole body to rule out that cancer is invading every part of me. But this won't happen without reason -- because some tools, like imaging tests, may detect noncancerous abnormalities and false positives that lead to unnecessary psychological stress and tests -- and sometimes even surgery. So if I develop a persistent cough that can't be controlled, perhaps my oncologist will order a chest x-ray. If headaches begin to plague me and relief is not in sight, then perhaps a scan of my head will be in order. But as long as I feel well, the assumption is that I am well. It's better for my soul this way -- to live life without the constant worry that cancer will return. And it's a whole lot more cost effective too.

Cervical cancer awareness is on the rise, though almost no information on its effect on male partners is available. For the first time attention is being given to the impact of this disease on women's relationships and the men they love.

A five-year study on the psychological and emotional effects of the disease is being planned at the University of Surrey in the UK. The researchers will observe whether the disease bonds couples stronger or breaks them apart, as well as the effect it has on their sex lives. Described as a lonely disease by lead researcher and cervical cancer patient Alison Nightingale, its effects can be very stressful and confusing for both partners. "One small-scale study found that partners suffered the same levels of cancer-related distress as the women going through treatment," she says.

Any newly-diagnosed cervical cancer patients and their partners are encouraged to participate in the study by contacting the university.

This week, the British Medical Journal published the results of an observational study that suggests parents are unaware of the impact a cancer diagnosis has on their children. According to the very small survey involving 37 mothers who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the interviews with their children, the researchers recommend parents need support in thinking about how they will talk to their children. I am going to quote a statement in the report that reads, "Parents sometimes misunderstood their children's reactions and underestimated the emotional impact or did not recognize the children's need for more preparation and age appropriate information about the illness and its treatment." I did not speak to these 37 women, but this study in general reveals the need to stand back and question the results of any study before accepting its validity.

I am a cancer survivor, and I know more than a few cancer survivors. Every parent I know was extremely concerned about the devastating impact cancer would have for their children, and spent a good amount of time thinking about how to talk to their children. All the parents I know went to great lengths to do so in a way that would bring reassurance and comfort for their children. It is such an important topic for parents, I posted how do you tell your children you have cancer? back in March, sharing Family Doctor suggestions for parents in helping their children cope with a parent diagnosed with cancer. While parents may want to protect their children from worries and fear, I do not know one that isn't acutely aware and concerned for their children. Parents who sought out the resources needed to help them best discuss cancer with their kids. I am taken aback by the suggestion in the study published in the British Medical Journal that states parents are sometimes unaware of the emotional and psychological needs of their children.