TOTAL AND COMPLETE REMISSION!!

I'll let you guess which one is Mr. Lymphoma

KIM UPDATE: We just got the PET scan and the verdict is in....TOTAL AND COMPLETE REMISSION!!  PRAISE THE LORD!! We still need to do two more rounds to make sure everything that is undetectable is destroyed but this is per the doctor, "the best thing we could have hoped for". Thank you all for your prayers and support. God has heard you and we are overwhelmed by His grace and mercies. God is good!
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(I wrote most of below by faith this morning...I just had a "feeling". Ya' know?) Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Cancer is a brutal, no holds barred, fist fight. Each round has it's unique ups and downs and its own ebb and flow. If I had to summarize our fight thus far:

Round One - Kim entered the fight in a weakened state. After enduring several "-oscopys" and a "pericardial window" - the first round proved this was not going to be a "walk in the park". Rituxan came out and knocked her hard to the ground (see severe infusion reaction HERE) - so hard at one point it led to one of the darkest nights of my life as I thought cancer (Mr. Lymphoma) had soundly beaten us in the opening round. Round 1 goes to Cancer.

Round Two - Kim came out ready for this round and Team Lymphoma didn't know what hit them. We had a new coach in our corner from U of Chicago and she came up with a more aggressive game plan and Kim executed to a tee. This time around Rituxan came in with a roar but left with a whimper. Round 2 goes to Kim.

Round Three - This round Kim took some big blows to the head and the body and she spent most of it on the canvas (see HERE). The spinal tap (Methatrexate injection) left her with splitting headaches that literally had her laid up and horizontal for one week straight. When she went to the corner for a "blood patch" it led to a 911 call and a trip to the ER. She almost passed out from the pain. Round 3 goes to Cancer.

Round Four - This latest round has demonstrated the number of hits to the body Kim has taken. It has left her in a weakened state and has begun to compromise some of her other adrenal functions. She hit the ground several times (fainting spells), but just when you think she's down and out we find out that she has delivered a HUGE KNOCKOUT BLOW TO CANCER! ("Down goes Frazier!!") The cancer has hit the canvas hard and is not breathing anymore. The referee has started the count and this fight has shifted momentum dramatically! Round 4 goes to Kim and Mr. Lymphoma is out COLD!!

So we have two more rounds to go. Round Five will be devoted to a few sucker punches to Cancer's face (while the ref isn't looking) and Round Six will be a few more kicks to the body while he's down as a warning to him and his friends to never come back. (PG-13...I know)

We are celebrating this complete remission - no doubt. It's exactly what we hoped for and we are so thankful for the results. But just for some levity, cancer is never considered cured until it's been in remission for five years. That means we have to deliver a knockout blow so severe it renders the cancer unconscious for a long, long time. So we won't really know if we've "won" for five years. But for now, we celebrate God's goodness and a huge, HUGE knockout blow. Thank you so much for joining with us, praying for us, and cheering us along in your ringside seats. Like I said after the end of a brutal Round One on January 14th:

"In the meantime I am giving Mr. Lymphoma a little warning: "Look out, brother! Because me, my God, and an army of prayer warriors are coming to KICK...YOUR...ASS!!!" (Rated R...I know...forgive me!)

As of March 29th - consider Mr. Lymphoma's ass kicked. Now we wait and pray and see if he gets up or if he stays down for a long, long time. Thank you all for joining us in this epic fight. We love you.  

For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you....this is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. -2 Chronicles 20:12, 15

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim