6 Down 2 To Go...................11-11-11.

This is going to be a long post....
Started the new chemo Taxatier, its the sister to the Taxol. Side effects still neuropathy (just not as bad) nausea, lowers white blood count, aches & pains, oh basically the same as everything else. But only a 2 1/2 hour treatment.
So I had treatment on Monday the 31st. Happy Halloween to me).
It wasn't to bad a process. Dr. Matumba was there asked him about taking B12 to help the neuropathy but he said  no but i could take B6. So I am.
Tuesday after treatment feel great, Wednesday hits me again about 3. Tired, not as achy, Thursday I'm beat and now not only are my finger tips numb, but my tongue and whole mouth is. Ugggggg. this is not a good feeling. I sleep most of the day away, brush my teeth every time I get up, just to keep the mouth sores away.
Thursday night I am so sore I have to take a hydracodone & decide maybe some cold sesame noodles I get up get dizzy pass out! Then start to get nauseous. Now many of you don't know this about me but I hate i mean hate anything that has to do with vomiting. (not that anyone does) But I cant hear see it smell it anything or i get sick so if i am about to get sick myself i try my hardest  not to! (thanks mom for passing this on to me). I dry heave and pass out again when I decide to try and get up. Joe then puts me on the couch take a zofran and out i go for 2 hours. But I wake up feeling ok.
On Friday I'm doing pretty good. We are going to visit the MD Peditto's on Sunday & I have a follow up with Dr. Sacks on Monday at Hopkins.
I feel much better on Sunday still a bit tired, but feel good. Paul & Stephanie invited Charlie & Jane over for dinner that night & i can't wait i know it will be lots of laughs & lots of rebuttling......even Nick jumped in on the humor.
Monday get to Hopkins for lunch meet Stephanie, & stop to see the Jesus statue. Its my first time i see him as every time Ive been there its either been rushed or Ive been in surgery. This is cool, you are to touch his foot or his robe ( I touched both) & you can write a note for prayers.
Me, Joe & Stephanie go up to the breast ctr, & see Dr. Sacks, he checks out the boob & is so impressed with it. and I quote " that's the best looking nipple sparing mastectomy, That's one for the record books" Joe was waiting for him to take a picture to use it on his business cards.
He also feels if I could have the other breast removed have an expander put in & the overectamy done at the same time. Then everything would be ready for reconstruction in about 6, 9 or 12 months after everything heals from radiation.
I went for a blood check on Wednesday and my white counts where down to 2? But Dr. Greenberg feels i am on the up swing, and things should be good for treatment number 7 on the 14th. Something may have to change he said though because the tongue numbness is a concern. I will be done on the 28th!!!!
Also if I haven't mentioned it, chemo can & did send me into menopause, ok so beware, mood swings are at a high, hot flashes are unbelievable, if you've ever seen the sex in the city episode when Samantha had cancer & she is talking at the award ceremony & starts to have a hot flash says "oh F-it" & rips off her wig. I do that i think once an hour!!!! So i started to take vitamin e this is supposed to help?
I had a nice surprise on Thursday, Cousin Kristy came to visit. We are 5 months apart (shes older). and when we where young spent sooo much time together, she lives in Medford lakes & did when we where young too. 2 Quick stories......I think we were about 10 & where riding double on her banana seat bike, but I was on the handlebars going down a huge hill in the lakes, hit a rock (or bolder) and we went flying. I still have the scars on my elbows. (it was her idea). oh & at about 13, our family had a small family reunion at our Gparents house in Ventnor & we decided to walk up to Steel Pier in AC, it got dark & w/ no $ left could not get back. So we went into the Astor Hotel on pacific ave.( I think that was the name) & had to call the parents. They were not happy. (That may have been my idea?) Any way, we may not see each other that often but having lunch with her & talking was like we never missed a beat. It completely made my week! I love you cuz. Thank You.
I went today to see Dr. Harvey the radiologist, she needed to get my measurements for radiation. that was interesting. You lie on a cat scan table, boob out arms above the head. then the pillow thingy you lay on is a mold that they form to your shape as well as align a beam across the breast area, then they tattoo 3 little dots one on either side of both breasts & one in the center of the chest area. They look like freckles, & yes they are real permanent tattoos. I asked if I could get something cool, like stars , moons & maybe a ribbon.
Then photos of the area. and that's it. I will start radiation on December 27th. it will be about 15 min. everyday for 6 weeks. So on or about February 7th I will be done that! Then hopefully sometime in February remove the other breast, put in the expander and overectamy.
& depending on how my skin reacts to radiation, reconstruction sometime from September to February 2013.
xoxo

This picture is of Me & Karlee C, (shes not happy) with a 6 foot Snake. At Anthony & Carmello M's Sixth Birthday Party.

A Shout Out to some supporters

Just wanted to inform you all of some amazing support I have gotten during this time. These are just two recent ones from town.
Jeanine from Studio 21 Beauty Bar in Hammonton has been doing Pink blinged out Martini glasses in honor of me & The koman foundation. & Is doing a brows for breasts event. Here's her ad...............................
Win free brows for one year! In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Studio 21 will be holding a BROW-A-THON October 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. With a $10 donation for breast cancer research, you'll receive gorgeous brows and the chance to win free eyebrow shaping for an entire year! Brows for breasts
Also David Charles Jewelry in Hammonton is donating a protion of the proceeds from the breast cancer items to The Shirley Mae fund. In honor of me). Shirley Mae helps local women with cancer.
Thank you both so much for all your support. I am truly touched.
xoxo

Breast Cancer Walk, & the Next step of Chemo........Taxol Oct. 24

Wow Lots to catch up on........First my today is my much older brother Paul's Birthday, so Happy Birthday PP! LOVE YOU SO MUCH, For being you & for always being there for me.
Last week was the Breast Cancer walk in OC NJ. I had wrote about it a few month ago. Laura designed the T-shirt & it turned out so cool. We had a beautiful day with some of my favorite people. Me & Joe, Mom, Lisa & Linda (long), My cousins came from North jersey Joanna, & Marie from Penncy, & brought me my fave. cookies she makes!, My Hammonton peeps came & brought lots of Pink Bling, LisaJo, Joanne, Cassy & My Karlee who made a Team Toni Banner for us to carry. & Of course my sidekick & her family Colleen, Ant, Lil Ant ( who if you ask what I have, he says I have sarcasm, he's 5 & already knows how sarcastic I can be) & Carmello & Megan. 2 of them kind of ate their way up & down the boardwalk. But the support was there. It was a sea of pink, support & very moving. So glad I was up for doing it.
I started the Taxol treatment the following Monday, The side effects are numbness in the hands & feet, body aches & all the other typical side effects. But the Dr. said most of those don't hit until a few treatments in.......AHHH Yea not so much!
They started of with giving me the IV of steroids, zofran & emmend. Then a large IV bag of benadryl, thats just in case i have an allergic reaction to the Taxol? So about an hour into getting the bennidril, i was still talking Lisa was there trying to do work while hanging with me, I made grocery lists for Mom who ran to Walmart . Kathy the nurse did not understand how I was still awake. Her reply most people would be asleep by now for at least a few hours. Lisa said she thought I was talking more...oh well I guess the benadryl had an adverse effect on me. It made me hyper? I did take a quick nap for maybe about an hour. But the whole process was 5 & a 1/2 hours.....Yea no one warned me of that. Good think I have the new Angry Birds game on my phone!
I felt pretty good the rest of the day, tired but I think mostly because it was just a long day.
They next day felt fine, same a before kind of rejuvenated. Most likely because of all the steroids I've been pumped up with.
Day 3, about 3:00 I hit the wall.......baaadddd. Body aches & the tingling in the fingers had started so bad I couldn't button a button. The bottoms of my feet were burning, & the aches where so bad I swear you could hear my knees Creek. Luckily I still had hydrocodone from before so that was it I needed to pop them & sleep. I was able to eat normally, no nausea. Thank Goodness. But up until Sunday I felt like I was 110.
So now I know what to expect, I go in today for blood work to check my counts that will be done through my port since last week the nurse slipped & I have a quarter sizee bruise on my arm!
Then 3 more treatments left. November 28th will be my last one!!!!!!!!!! & I should be good to go for the December Christmas season, I can not wait to eat Crabs & Spaghetti.
Below are pictures from the walk.
xoxo

Hammonton Gazette Article On Me & Breast Cancer

Round 4.....the last of the A/C chemo 10-1-11

Sorry never posted from the last chemo, & for the delay in posting, I've realized that typing on the computer & just looking at the computer makes my eyes & head hurt. I did not get the nuelasta shot, the Dr prescribed the nuepogin shot because it was the nuelasta that was giving me the migraine. Joe got the lucky job of giving me the shot at home for 6 days, so I needed to be nice to him. After this treatment in 2 weeks I will start the taxoil treatments, now that Ive got the A/C chemo down on what works & makes me feel better treatment will change.
Here are a few tips I've learned......
Eating an ice pop while getting chemo helps w/ the mouth sores
If I feel like a mouth sore is starting I eat an ice cube and numb the area & it seems to go away.
I had a bad esophagus burn and reflux from the chemo (that's lovely) so the Dr prescribed prilocet & that helps so much! Plus tums, lots of tums.
Cousin Stephanie D. Recommended preggi pops for the nausea they're found at maternity stores & they really work. Oh & they're all natural.
Of course the steroids cause hot head & with it having been hot out I would get the chills so keeping a scarf on my bald head helped keep the heat in & my body temp comfortable.
Taking a clairatin the night before I would get the nuepogin shot helps keep the bone ache down, don't know why but that was a tip from the Melinda the nurse at the center for cancer.

But for a quick update I'm doing pretty good, usually a few days down after chemo then about 6 days or so where I kinda feel like myself. Taste buds are off but that's OK. Cranberry juice, OJ & black cherry soda all taste good.
Also 2 new wigs, one was for a Housewives tour, My sidekick Colleen & I went to see the ladies dish....It was a fun night out & I gotta say they look better in person.
Then Moms wavy hair wig, It has a lace front so I need to cover it with a scarf, or it looks odd. But strangely enough I liked it, & any of my high school & Disney friends may remember when I actually had this hair & paid a lot of $$$ for it.
I was interviewed by the local paper for a series they are doing on cancer in town it's really good I'd I do say so myself. I'll post it on another page for your reading enjoyment. It's very exciting, another Peditto is in the news. Not about an animal rescue or a screen play, but cancer awareness!

It's breast cancer awareness month so if you haven't gotten your mammogram nows is as good a time as any!
Xoxo
Just a reminder....no judging on the spelling bad enough i have no idea how to spell some of these meds, I now have whats called Chemo brain (yes it's real) so you have no memory & am a bit scrambled when it comes to re-reading & writing.

The Strawberry stork mark? Sept. 19th

First I want to start off Wishing my god child Bopper Kati Peditto A very Happy 18th Birthday today! I love you.
So a quick cancer update. No Chemo today...White count is just a bit to low. But I did take the Nupogin shot & so far so good. I go back on Wednesday 9-21-11, if I'm all good, then I get chemo.
The reason for the title of this post is a genetic question. After losing all my hair Lisa asked if she had hurt me because she thought I had a rash on the back of my neck? My mom said no that's her Strawberry birthmark, all the Peditto's have one. I thought she was crazy, but as you will see in the picture of me & Darren we both have the same mark. Mom said Paul has it too. She also said Grandmom Peditto said that all her boys had them? So I am throwing this out there to all my cousins who are reading this & if you can ask around to those that are not. Who else has this birthmark? Now Zackary does not have one, but I think the gene must come from the father, & I know Kati has one cause I distinctly remember it. Not sure about Nick? (Paul or Steph does he?) Also I think Anna has one but can't be positive, but I will find out.
And is it a Peditto thing only or is it a Monaco thing too? I am so curious. Please let me know.
I have also added some pictures of my wigs......so far Its a Blonde, Purple tips, & then the basic black. But no worries more will follow soon.
xoxo

 

OC NJ Breast Cancer walk Oct 16th

Wanted to give everyone the heads up on Oct 16th we will be doing ( I hope to be doing, depending on how i feel) the OC NJ Breast Cancer walk on the boardwalk. If you would like to join us, the more the merrier.
http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY12Eastern?fr_id=35961&pg=entry
This is the registration for that walk.
My cousin also designed a t-shirt if your interested & would like one let me know what size. I waiting on the cost to have the t-shirts printed but don't think it should be much.
Thank You for all the prayers & support.
xoxo,
Tonilyn