Is Ronnie James Dio slaying cancer like so many dragons? According to an update from his wife/manager Wendy and the just-released lineup for the June 19 Czech Republic stop of the Sonisphere Festival, which has Heaven and Hell second on the bill, he seems to well on his way to recovery.

“Well, it has been a very exhausting month,” Wendy said in a statement. “After all the never-ending tests in Los Angeles, we flew to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and as soon as we arrived, we got a call from the MD Anderson Hospital that they had an appointment for us with the doctor we originally wanted, so we then flew to Houston to the clinic, and, of course, MORE tests, but Ronnie finished receiving his first chemo treatment on Wednesday, and all is going very well.

“I would like to thank Tony Martell from the T.J. Martell Foundation, Dr. Stuart Aaronson from Mount Sinai, Lindsay Brown and Mike Carden from Eagle Records, and our very own Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, for all your help in getting us into MD Anderson, and also our friends Geezer and Gloria Butler, who flew to Houston to be with Ronnie while he had his chemo.

“Ronnie and I are totally overwhelmed by the amount of well wishes that we have received from friends and fans — we are reading them all. Some make us laugh, some make us cry, but all of them are so filled with love that it gives us so much support and makes Ronnie even more determined to fight this battle and win. Thank you all for the positive energy and prayers.”

It’s a little premature to say he’s beat cancer, but if Dio wasn’t improving, they wouldn’t be booking shows taking place six months from now. We’re still hopeful that he gets well, and this is encouraging news.