Christine Hochkeppel

Picture Stories: Matthew Starring

This is a documentary project about Matthew Starring's battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was first diagnosed in January of 2007 and then went into remission in May of that year after receiving chemotherapy treatments. He relapsed in April of 2008 and received a bone marrow and stem cell transplant from his then 15-year-old sister on July 31, the day he was supposed to ride with his father in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a charity bike ride benefting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. After the transplant, he was in remission for eight months when we relapsed again in March of 2009. After another eight months of extreme ups and downs between rigorous procedures and treatments, Matthew and his family decided to stop treating his leukemia. He spent his last two weeks at his home in Barrington, R.I. surrounded by family and friends. He died on Sunday, November 8, 2009. 

Please visit the multimedia section of this site to see audio slideshows about his fight. 

 

  • Matthew holds his mother's hand as he is prepped for a bone marrow biopsy, a painful but routine procedure for him, on Wednesday, April 8, 2009.
  • Matt Starring, 22, rode his bike around the warning track at Fenway Park with other Pan Mass Challenge riders and volunteers on Saturday, July 12, 2008. Starring registered as a rider in this charity bike ride for two years in a row, but because of his relapses he was not able to ride with his father as planned either year.
  • Emerson College student Matthew Starring, 23, takes a quick break from rehearsing his upcoming solo performance so personal care attendant Sherina Mayo can check his vital signs in his room on the 12th floor for oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital on Friday, April 3, 2009. Matthew recently found out that his leukemia had relapsed for the second time after receiving a bone marrow transplant from his sister last summer and then being in remission for eight months.
  • Matthew rehearses his solo performance, {quote}Beast,{quote} with his sound man and roommate, Baird Caner, 22, on Wednesday, April 22, 2009.
  • Matthew and his girlfriend, Hannah DeRemer, 20, have coffee in bed with his cat, Flannel, in their Boston apartment. Matthew is recovering from an orchiectomy from the day before. Doctors discovered that his remaining testicle was leukemic and needed to be removed a few days earlier. He lost his other testicle the year before during his first relapse.
  • The day after his orchiectomy, Matthew is determined to make homemade peanut butter cup pancakes for his girlfriend before she leaves to study abroad in the Netherlands for a month on Thursday, May 14, 2009.
  • Matthew performs {quote}Beast,{quote} a series of monologues that he wrote about his battle with cancer, at {quote}The Cabaret{quote} on the Emerson College campus on Saturday, April 25, 2009.
  • Matthew high fives his dad, Mark, as he crosses the Pan-Mass Challenge finish line in Provincetown, Mass after a two-day 192-mile bike ride to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Sunday, August 2, 2009. Mark rode for the Dana-Farber FLAMES team which raises money for a restricted fund specifically benefiting adult leukemia and lymphoma research. FLAMES is an acronym for Fast Legs And Minds Ending Suffering.
  • Matthew Starring jokes around with nurse Ludmila Svoboda after learning that his latest bone marrow biopsy was negative for leukemia on Thursday, August 13, 2009. Ms. Svoboda asked Matthew to accompanyher to the WEEI/NECN telethon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Fenway Park. {quote}I thought you'd be the perfect one, I just love you,{quote} she said to Matthew.
  • Matthew mimics his 16-year-old sister, Allison Starring, in true older brother fashion while she donates lymphocyte cells for him on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.
  • Matthew Starring and his girlfriend, Hannah DeRemer, 21, make phone calls to friends letting them know that Matthew has decided to stop treating his leukemia on Friday, October 23, 2009. Matthew was hospitalized for a week with a serious fever and pneumonia. This photo is part of a series, which is showcased in the {quote}Picture Stories{quote} section.
  • Matthew plays some of his original songs for an audience of about 25 friends and family members in his living room on Thursday, October 29, 2009.
  • Matthew and his friends circle around a pear, gorgonzola and honey pizza they collaborated on as Jeff {quote}Marcus{quote} Marcus, 24, cuts slices on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
  • Matthew's father, Mark Starring, his close friend, Caitlin Reid, 24, and his sister, Allison, 16, watch Matthew as he sleeps on Monday, October 26, 2009.
  • Matthew asked his friends to give him some space so he could take some time out for himself on Saturday, October 31, 2009.
  • Sarah Jane Yurek and Erin Riley, alumni of Noteworthy, the Emerson College a cappella group that Matthew directed, pay their respects during the wake at Watson Funeral Home in Riverside on Wednesday, November 10, 2009. Matthew was clad is his favorite fedora hat with matching chili pepper print bow tie and vest.
  • Rachel Garis, a college friend of Matthew's, hugs Emerson College artist in residence Mirta Tocci, one of Matthew's most influential mentors, outside St. John's Episcopal Church after the memorial service on Thursday, November 12, 2009
  • Emerson College sophomore Naveed Easton leads the a capella group that Matthew directed, Noteworthy, in an arrangement of The Beatles' song {quote}With a little help from my friends{quote} during the memorial service on Thursday, November 12, 2009.
  • As a tribute to Matthew, many of his friends and family members wore red Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers, an essential component to his unique fashion statements. The Starrings discouraged mourners from wearing black and instructed to sport bright colors and loud outfits.
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