Thank God!

That is all I can seem to say tonight, "Thank God, Thank God!" Once again, as we have been standing with our toes curling over the edge into the abyss, a miracle has happened to pull us back.  Denny had labs drawn and saw Dr. Murphy today.  His labs came back normal; no white blood cell drop as was expected.  Dr. Murphy walked in the door and stared at Superman in amazement.  She said, "You look normal!  The topotecan is working!"  She said that topotecan does not usually work so quickly and was flabbergasted that Denny had such a "phenomenal" response.  She also said that topotecan and radiation cannot be given together.  With the response he's had, she doesn't feel he needs the radiation at this time.

But wait!  There is even better news!  Topotecan, unlike other types of chemo, has no limit to how many times it can be administered.  Denny can stay on topotecan as long as the tumor continues to respond.  This means his cancer will just be treated like a chronic disease.  He will have to go in for a treatment after every 3rd week.  Isn't this unbelievable?

Radiation will be an option when the cancer becomes resistant to the topotecan.  Incidentally, all of the paperwork was faxed into Vanderbilt by this morning.  I called up to St. Louis early this a.m. and right off the bat, the girl said, "You don't have to drive up - I'm sending it right now!"  I don't know about you but that made me laugh.  They REALLY don't want to see me, do they? Hahaha!

As we were leaving Vanderbilt, Denny turned to me and said, "Could this day be any better?" Then, he smiled; a genuine-from-the-heart-through-his-eyes smile.  "No", I said, "This day could not be any better!"  We held hands walking to the car and just thanked God.