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fighting chance "The toughest part of the treatment was the antihistamine they make you take to suppress a reaction to the antibody," he said. "It makes you sleepy." The lymphoma went into remission shortly after his first infusion. A chest X-ray showed no active disease. "It was the first time in years my X-ray was normal," says Blasucci. "I even held the scan up to the light, just to make sure. It was an exciting moment." Then in January 2000, his gallium scan - a comprehensive test to detect lymphoma cells - was completely clean. His physicians are optimistic about his chances for long-term remission. "Dan did exceptionally well on radioimmunotherapy," said O'Donnell. "Every day that goes by without new lymphoma showing up is good. He's had no active disease in two years." This spring it will be more than two years since Blasucci began treatment. Two years of waking up next to his wife. Two years of watching his teenage daughter ("my reason for living") go off to school. Two years of anniversaries, birthdays and family gatherings. What the future holds, no one knows. Blasucci may die of lymphoma before he dies of old age, but he's happy for the challenge. "I'm happy with what I got," he says. "Besides, every year that you're alive, you get more options for treatment." It may not be the miracle the world is waiting for, but it's miracle enough for him. For information about the Radiodiagnosis and Therapy Program at UC Davis, call (916) 734-3787.
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