Welcome! Sign in

11/26/08 08:44AM | 1981 views

Road to recovery hits milestone
Matthew Starring’s second battle with cancer reaches Day 100 in recovery

By Kim Centazzo and Christine Hochkeppel

BARRINGTON — Barrington resident Matthew Starring no longer calls the Dana Farber Cancer Institute home.

The 22-year-old Emerson College student recently returned to his house on Sowams Road, after he received a bone marrow transplant from his teenage sister, Allison Starring.

“It’s so much better. It’s so much better now,” he said.

Matthew was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in January 2007, and relapsed this year. A few months ago, the Starrings discovered Allison was a perfect match for her brother, and in early August, the two underwent the transplant surgery.

“I have some down days as my GI track figures out what to do again, but it’s so much better being home. I’m so much more comfortable,” Matthew said. “I feel a lot more free being here.”

In preparation for Matthew’s homecoming, his mother, Jayne Starring, hired a professional to clean the house.

Click on the different pictures below for three audio slideshows documenting Matthew’s life and the coping mechanisms that keep his outlook positive through his second battle with cancer.

“I think what they’re most concerned with is him picking up some bacteria or virus from anything but in particular food,” she said. “We’re living on Clorox wipes. We have to wipe down everything all the time, but it’s worth it. It’s good to have him home.”

Ms. Starring said she had to stop using cloth towels and switch to paper towels, because cloth towels can hold bacteria.

“There’s tons of hand washing,” Mrs. Starring said.

She and Matthew met with a dietitian to go over special food issues. For now, he has to stay away from fresh foods, like fruits, vegetables and ground pepper, and spring water. He is allowed to eat meat, so long as it is well done.

“Even though I still have a lot of restrictions, I still feel like, a little bit more like myself,” he said. “Dressing in my own clothes instead of pajamas all the time, it makes a huge difference.”

The majority of Matthew’s food restrictions were lifted on Sunday, Nov. 9, which marked his 100th day in recovery.

“Day 100 that’s the big day. His food issues loosen up, he can order pizza. No sushi. Certain things he has to stay away from for a year. After day 100 it gets a lot safer,” she said.

Matthew was planning to have a small group of friends over on that day in his family’s backyard to celebrate the milestone. He said they mostly plan on eating some of his favorite take-out items that were previously on restriction — the Buffalo chicken sub from Pepperoni’s and gaggers from Eats in Seekonk. Originally, he and his family were planning a big party but they decided to keep it low-key because of the looming cold and flu season.

“After speaking with my doctor about what exactly happens at 100 days, it’s a little anticlimactic,” Matthew said of the change in plans.

“It’s worth all of the time and effort. All the shopping and cleaning, it’s so worth it to have him home,” Mrs. Starring said. “It’s great. You can always gauge how he is feeling by how much music is playing in the house.”

Music to her ears

On a sunny day in late August, Matthew sat on his porch, kicked his feet up on a coffee table and strummed his guitar to a tune he wrote a few months back.

“It was a great sign this morning when I heard him strumming and singing. I was like, ‘Yes, it’s going to be a good day,’” Mrs. Starring said.

Matthew has his good days, and he has his bad days. On his good days, he said he likes to pick up his guitar, which is something he has been doing for years.

When he first started to write his own music, he said it was upbeat and “fluffy.”

“About girls and really happy. I have a lot of happy tunes,” he said.

On this particular day, Matthew sang a song called “End of the Ride” that he composed over the summer. He said he was inspired by singer/songwriter Beck’s new album “Modern Guilt.”
“Heavenly world awaits, but I lack the vision, so I’m trying to keep the faith, but it’s still your decision and if we all go down, find this all burned down around, run my children hide cause this is the end of the ride,” he sang. “If I were you I’d hold on to what I could lose cause I don’t believe that you don’t have anything, that you don’t have anything…”

To listen to Matthew Starring's original song, "Beast," written the day after he learned about his relapse, click here

To listen to Matthew Starring's arrangement of U2's "Beautiful Day" performed by Emerson College's A cappella group, Noteworthy, click here.

“My music kind of took a big turn for a lot darker,” he said. “It’s a lot darker now after I’ve been sick. My dad said it’s not that it drags, it’s not draggy or too slow or too anything. He said it pulls on you. I was like, ‘I like that.’ It kind of lingers and twists a little bit.”

Matthew said he has not written anything since he returned from the hospital.

“I haven’t and I don’t know why. I feel like I should,” he said. “I’m looking for a day when things will be a little bit brighter. As far as my life I mean it’s getting there. I think I’m probably going to write more about it afterwards.”

Matthew said he hopes to return to Boston within the next month or so, to visit his girlfriend and friends. He hopes to return to school next semester.

For now, he will continue to recover at his home in Barrington, and play the guitar on his good days.

“I don’t really write with the intention of making it big with my stuff,” he said. “I can’t ever see myself stop writing because it’s just how I deal with stuff. It’s how I emote and how I kind of deal with problems that I may have or questions that I may have.”

What’s next

In late September, Matthew started to venture out for 10- to 15-minute bike rides around the neighborhood. Just recently, he increased his average trip mileage from a 2-mile loop to three.

“The biking is good for me. I can already see progress in myself physically. I can take stairs two at a time now. It’s getting easier.”

He definitely plans on biking in the 2009 Pan Mass Challenge. This past summer, he registered to ride the 111-mile course with his dad, but decided against it after his relapse. His bone marrow transplant happened only a day before the ride started on Aug. 2. His nurse practitioner from Miriam Hospital biked in his place and his father kept his commitment to the challenge in Matthew’s honor.

Instead of taking a Developmental Psychology course back at school for the spring semester as planned, he is looking into an online version and sticking around Barrington for a little longer.

“I’d rather spend more time focusing on my health exclusively.”

He busies himself with little projects and errands, arranging songs for Emerson College’s A Capella group, “Noteworthy,” playing the guitar and researching travel destinations to explore with his girlfriend, Hannah DeRemer, 20, also an Emerson College student.

“I've always seen myself as forward — I’ve always tried to be two steps ahead of where I am right now ... Usually 90 percent of the day I’m thinking about what’s next.”

“I’m a pretty positive person, I think, and I don’t really dwell on negativity. I try to take a little time think about it and go... ‘Yeah, I’m awesome.’ And then, keep going forward.”

UPDATE: Matthew's recent bone marrow biopsy results show that 100 percent of the cells are donor cells, which means that all of the blood in his body is from his sister, Allison. They now share the same DNA.

Speak out: Your comments and opinions

No comments on this item