Vince's Journey

First the bad; once again my white blood counts were too low so my 7th treatment has been delayed for a week. This really didn't break my heart since we are going to Chicago this week to look at few colleges for Judd and see the play, 'Wicked'. Too be honest, I'm kind of glad that at least I'll feel decent for the trip...had I received a treatment I would have probably felt pretty crappy on Wednesday and Thursday so if ever there was a week to get delayed, it was this week.

Now the GREAT NEWS....We did get to see Dr. Leming today and he said treatment #7 will BE MY LAST!!!!! He reviewed my PET scan from April 17 and it basically said there is no metabolic activity which means the 'R' word....REMISSION!!!! He said the protocol is to follow-up with 2-4 treatments following signs of remission and feels three will be enough for me. This news comes almost 8 months to the day that I was diagnosed back on October 4. I can't thank you all enough for all your prayers and support these past 8 months...we couldn't have gotten to where we are without you.

This doesn't mean we're done. Dr. Leming said I could do Rituxan maintenance every 3 months for up to two years. But the Rituxan doesn't wipe you out or effect your blood counts the way Chemo does. And every three months is a helluva a lot better than every three weeks!!!

Needless to say we're very excited about this news. Its the news we've been waiting to hear since we started on this journey. But the fact is, we don't want to just win the battle, we want to win the war. So we have to keep supporting the doctors and researchers who are out there working hard to find cures for these diseases. As Dr. Barrett told me back on October 4, he thinks there could be a true CURE for my disease in 3 to 5 years; they are that close. And I don't think he would have said that if he truly didn't believe it. So this is a great day but I'd like to ask you to continue the fight because a cure is not that far away! And thats a day we will all celebrate.

I would also like to ask for your prayers for one of my great friends, Marshall Esler, and his family. Yesterday, we attended Marshall's father's funeral. He passed away last week after a battle of his own with lymphoma. A couple years ago he was treated and put into remission but it recently came back. The doctor said that if he was stronger and in better health, he could have treated him but at the age of 82, his body couldn't have withstood another round of chemo. So please remember Marshall, Bee (his mother), Sam (his brother) and their entire family in your prayers during this time of great loss. They are a wonderful family and have been a tremendous source of support for me during the past 8 months.

So, we're off to Chicago on Wednesday. Abbey is looking so forward to seeing 'Wicked' that she can't stop listening to the CD. I just hope the rest of us aren't sick of the songs by the time Thursday night rolls along.

Thanks again for being there for us! We love you all!

Vince, Jules, Judd, Headly and Abbs