Hello everyone!

Its been awhile since my last blog but I had a variety of things to focus on, including my wedding! I got married on May 24th 2008, the happiest day of my life! I am now Trycia Perry! It was an incredible day! The day before, I was a little frustrated because it was cold and rainy and our wedding was going to be outdoors. However, the next morning the sun was shining brightly, the clouds were gone, and the sky was exceptionally beautiful. It was as though God cleansed the earth for our special day!

Mike and I had been in rehearsals the week before for a show on the TLC Network called "Rock the Reception," which was quite a surprise for our wedding guests. The show involves professional choreographers who choreograph the bride and groom's first dance and the song that was chosen for us was MC Hammer's "Can't touch this." I must say, Mike is quite the dancer. He may have upstaged me a little. We even incorporated two people in our wedding party, Mike's brother Brian and my Maid of Honor, Erica. Come to think of it, Brian may have upstaged us all! He was IN it to WIN it! It was hilarious and such a shock for everyone! Our episode will aire on TLC July 15 at 8PM.

About a month prior to the wedding, my family and I had been researching treatment options outside of the United States. We were introduced to a doctor in Korea who is a pioneer in stem cell research and gene therapy. He happened to be in the U.S. on business and met with my family and I for around two hours the day he flew in. He is an amazingly brilliant doctor, and gave us more hope and encouragement than we had thought possible. He is confident that he can help me. The treatment that he offers is not available in the United States, so we would need to travel to Korea. But first, he needed to analyze my blood to see if I was a candidate. About 3 weeks later, we received a call saying that I was indeed a candidate and I needed to be in Korea on May 27. Two days after my wedding, my mom and I flew out.

Phew, what a whirlwind. The day we flew in we were met by Mr. Mock who drove us to the clinic where I was given a shot to stimulate my stem cells. What a character Mock is! He is always running around and is very "busybusybusy" as he says. He is very sweet and considerate. Actually, everyone in Korea is like this and it is really comforting. After the injection, we were taken to our hotel to get settled in. There are around 12 other Americans here as well...6 of which are cancer patients receiving their own tailor-made treatment. There is a great camaraderie between us all and everyone helps each other out. Again, very comforting.

The next day, I had the stem cell extracting procedure using a centrifuge machine. This machine spins the blood and separates it into different components based on size. One bag collects plasma, another white blood cells, and the last extracts the stem cells. This is done for 4 cycles to collect all the stem cells they need to work with. The procedure took about 2 hours and I was left feeling exhausted. I was advised to eat lots of protein, drink lots of water, and get lots of rest...which I did. Today, I got an injection to stimulate my DNA and prepare my immune system. Very simple, then we were sent on our way. We did a little shopping and are now back in the hotel room resting.

I gotta say, thank goodness for Skype!! I wish I knew about this when Mike was in Iraq. It is really helpful to be able to connect with family and friends back home. Being a newlywed, all I want to do is be at home with my husband. But I know that my being here now, will enable me to have longer future together with him, so it is worth it. There is definitely something larger at work here, and I'll continue to let the universe guide me.

I'll try and blog as often as I can, but I am very "busybusybusy" getting cured here in Korea...no big whoop. :) Thank you again for the many prayers and generous donations. I wouldn't be able to afford this cutting edge treatment without your support. I am beyond grateful and so happy to be able to share my journey with you.

Good Journey to all!
Trycia PERRY

May 6, 2008

Last week I had my consultation at City of Hope. Unfortunately, It was not quite what we expected. We were told so many wonderful things about it being the most progressive oncology hospital in our area, with cutting edge treatments, etc, but it didn't turn out that way for us.

They pretty much had the same outlook and recommended the same treatment that I am getting at Kaiser with a few minor alterations. Basically, I just keep switching from one drug to the next for the rest of my life and they aren't talking "cures." We asked them about stem cell research, clinical trials, etc and he felt that the treatment I'm on is the best possible treatment. No "outside of the box" thinking. So, back to what I already knew about being my own best advocate. Our next step is taking a closer look at possibilities outside of the country. We are in contact with a Dr. who is a pioneer in Stem Cell therapies using a patient's OWN stem cells. It is very exciting and seems very promising. I'll speak more on that as it develops. For now, I am a bit frusterated with our health care system, but a good thing that my Grandpa Fred always used to say is "people do the best they can with the information they are given." Good mantra G-pa!

Have a great week everyone!
Trycia