Great News

The goal of induction chemo is to put leukemia into remission immediately.  We are very grateful to say: Goal Accomplished!  We met with Dr. El-Shami today and, after reviewing my PET scans and MRI from last week, he was happy to tell us there are no signs of the tumor.  The cancer is in remission. We are so grateful for all the prayers that have been answered.  I was supposed to do my next round of chemo this week, but he postponed it until next week as my white blood cell count still hasn't totally recovered.  But, while it is still low, it is not low enough for me to be neutropenic.  This means I can eat fresh fruits and vegetables and I don't have to take my prophylactic meds (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral) for this week!  We'll start it all again next week, but for this week I can feel pretty darn normal.  Hoorah!

As far as future treatments, there will be radiation in May.  Based on the good response to the chemo, he doesn't think I will require a bone marrow transplant.  But, he does want to discuss it with his colleagues at Johns Hopkins.  For now, we're thrilled with the good news and thank everyone for your service and prayers in our behalf.