Beyond The Shock(R)

People die from car crashes, cancer, or even a common cold (depending on their health). The reason people are so positive is because YOU are NOT going to die from this. You have to find the fight inside you & use the love & support around you to kick some cancer ass. Without a positive attitude, the ass kicking is not as easy. Cancer & chemo may take your hair, possibly your toenails, & likely your breasts...but it doesn't have to take your life. You've got cancer...it doesn't have you.

It's scary, I realize. And you have every right to go through phases of sadness or anger or whatever else you feel. But in the end, it comes down to a battle. And cancer is a tricky little bugger, but this is a battle you will win! If ever you need support or just want to vent, know that people like me are here for you, too. Sending love your way!

Negativity will get you no where. Believe me. It's mind over matter, you stay positive, positive things will come your way. I guarntee it. It's the only way I have made it thru this battle thus far. I don't think about death and just like the other ladies said, we can all die at any time by any particular reason, its the not thinking about death that remains for me. I have too much to live for and my life is worth it to me. Cancer is a side block for most, now a days there are survivors with worse cases than ours. I know a woman who was diagnosed at stage 4 and it has spread to her stomach and lungs, and she's still going on and living life.

I had an unilateral mastectomy in 09. I also had a tissue expander. My drain tubes were in place for almost 2 weeks. They really were annoying! Didn't hurt, but just bothersome. I used a mastectomy cami and it was wonderful. It had a pouch in front to stuff the drain tubes in. I wore bagging, button down or zipper up tops and it was fine. The tissue expander is not fun though. It is a hard, implant like thing that has a magnet in it. The magnet is for the fills. The doc fills a syringe with saline and with the magnet guides the needle to the right spot and then he pokes your skin and into the expander. How long you have to have the expander in all depends on how big you want and how long it takes for you body to stretch. It didn't hurt at all except for the stretching of the muscles. My neck and back would ache for a few days. I was lucky, it only took 2 months before I was ready for the permanent implants. Over-all it isn't a horrible surgery as far as surgery goes. I have had worse for sure!! And I was only in the hospital 1 night too.

Hi Blair,

I was curious about your question and did a bit of research. Here is the best answer I came up with. It was given by:

Kevin R. Fox, MD, Assistant Director, Clinical Affairs and Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:

The Nottingham histologic score is simply a scoring system to assess the "grade" of breast cancers.

It is a total score based on 3 different sub-scores. The 3 sub-scores are assigned based on 3 components of how the breast cancer cells look under a microscope. (The details of these 3 components are not critical for you to understand). Each of the 3 components is assigned a sub-score of 1, 2, or 3, with 1 being best and 3 being worst. Once the 3 sub-scores are added, a Nottingham score is obtained: the minimum score possible is 3 (1+1+1) and the maximum possible is 9 (3+3+3).

A histologic grade of III is assigned to any patient with a Nottingham score of 8 or 9. Grade I refers to Nottingham scores of 3, 4, and 5, while Grade II refers to Nottingham scores of 6 and 7.

In the end, the Nottingham score and histologic grades are not very useful in the big picture, as they do not alter final overall treatment recommendations. High-score cancers tend to relapse more often than low-score cancers. Ultimately, however, we don't use the score in making clinical decisions.

I hope that this helps clear up any confusion. I wish you the best.

Although some studies have shown that factors such as traumatic events and losses can alter immune system functions, these studies have not provided any evidence of a direct cause-and-effect relationship between stress and breast cancer. An area currently being studied is whether or not stress reduction can improve immune response and slow progression in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

I have to say that I do believe stress is a huge factor in my getting breast cancer. My husband and I lost our company, then our jobs and then our home in 2009. I kept telling him that one of us were going to get cancer because of all the stress. And sure enough I was diagnosed on July 23, 2010 with Stage 1B breast cancer.