Rules For Families Affected By Cancer...

There are "The Rules" for dating, Rules of Etiquette, and I'm going to write Rules for Families Affected By Cancer. Here goes...
1. In order to win the cancer battle, you must like roller coaster rides, because you are now on "The Official Emotional Roller
Coaster." Your life will be in a constant battle between happy, sad, calm, confusion, peace and anger. Enjoy the ride!
2. You must be able to adapt at the drop of a hat, because all of the plans that you have set will inevitably be disrupted or
delayed due to patient sickness, doctors' emergencies, or miscommunication.
3. You must have a healthy heart, because it will break as you watch your relative in pain. Your heart will be overflowing with
joy to watch your loved one enjoy simple pleasures such as eating dinner at the table with family. But most of all,
your heart must be steadfast, because it will be praying constantly for God to take this disease away.
4. A good sense of humor is a MUST. If you don't laugh, make stupid jokes, and keep a positive attitude, you'll be consumed
by the sadness and depression that accompanies cancer.
5. You can't do it alone, and you must accept the help of family and friends. Saying "Yes" to offers of food, driving, gifts,
etc... This is the rule that I find overwhelming. We have NEVER had so much support, but it feels good to rely on others
instead of always doing things ourselves.
6. Secretarial skills are a must. You never know when a doctor will talk to you in the hospital room, so take notes. An
organized secretary returns the many calls on your machine, the abundance of E-mails, and writes notes of thanks. And
don't forget to have blogging skills to help keep everyone up-to-date. The secretary must handle hospital billing, appoint-
ment scheduling, insurance issues, and schedule medications. Sometimes I mess up, but I'll be a pro at this come summer!
7. Get your rest. "Tomorrow's another day, Scarlet." I need some sleep. My love and thanks to all, Karen

Cancer Boy Giving A New Update

Hello everyone. I finally am taking a moment to chill out and let you all know what is going on. Right now, fortunately, no news is good news. I have had about four good energy days and have not needed to sleep during the day at all. I have watched the latest three 007 James Bond movies and several other movies due to the fact that daytime television is somewhat uneventful. I have been reading a Sidney Poiter book that was given to me at the University of Pennsylvania by a lady passing by me in the hallway and will be moving into a Lance Armstrong book next. Sometimes it gets a little boring just sitting and reading a book so that is why I break the monotony by watching some tv or fooling around with a little project in the garage, etc., etc. My white blood cells took a hell of a plunge about five days after returning from H.U.P. but are slowly climbing their way back up to normal. I took a drive with Daphne on Saturday to run an errand and I drove for the first time in five weeks. That's a little wierd for a guy who logs 450 miles a week on my company truck driving all over plumbing the world. It felt good though. The temperature was warmer than normal so I put the window down and took the long way home. It is amazing the little things that I took for granted before now mean so much to do. Well, I am going to go for now. I hope everyone is doing well. I will try to update a little more often. I am not used to having this yet so most times Daphne needs to remind me to update. Talk to you soon!! Love Richie D.

Hello to all again!

Just a quick update tonight. Traveled to H.U.P. in Philadelphia this morning to recieve a cancer-related physical and also have the staples removed from my head. Physical went fine, "turn your head and cough." :) All of my parts are still in working order so far. I passed. Staple removal was interesting. No pain, but cute nurse practitioner used a tool that mimicked a pair of electricians dykes to slip staples out of my head. Total of 19 staples had to come out. After every 3 staples, the nurse would rub my head. WOO HOO!!!!! Gotta love free head rubs! (sorry Daphne) I love you! :) No more news in regards to cancer, but it looks like I will be returning to H.U.P. next Thurs. or Fri. to begin next round of chemo. Fun fun fun. I will let all know of my location when I find out. Well, that is all for tonight. I am going to get some much needed shut eye. Bye!

Greetings to my growing fan club!

I never knew I knew so many people! I love to read all these comments that keep growing on my blog. I never thought I was a "blog type guy" but this is actually kind of fun. Now on to the health update; I got a call from Lancaster General Hospital today, (Tuesday), letting me know that my white blood cells are pretty low, almost to the point of being non-existent. So this means that I need to be very careful about going out in public so I don't catch anything that will put me in peril. Other than that all else seems to be going well. No major side effects except for my mouth tasting like metal and surprise fatigue. That is one of the hardest things for me to deal with. I will be in the middle of doing something and all of a sudden I will just fall asleep! Well I better wrap this up so i don't
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Hi, to all - from Richard

Hi, everybody! Thanks for all of the messages. I hope everyone is doing well. I thought I would personalize my blog with a message from me. I'm doing okay. For the most part, my response to chemo is extremely roller coaster. I go from a good energy level to feeling pretty wasted in about 10 minutes. After I rest, the good energy lasts maybe 3 hours if I'm lucky, so I try to do simple things during that time (kiss Daphne, do laundry, hug Daphne, eat food, kiss Daphne). Taking a shower is interesting too. I cannot shower at my normal speed because of IV wounds and the new port in my chest. If I go too fast and hit them with soap, ouch! I never realized how rough I was on myself with soap. (But who wants a smelly plumber?) :) I spend most of my awake alone time reading magazines and watching movies. I have enough of both for now, so don't get any ideas. Ha, ha. Lastly, thanks to everybody who has done anything to help me, Daphne, my parents, and Peter. There are too many to list here. You know who you are. Well, it took me 10 minutes to write this, so I think I should go sleep for about 4 hours now before I fall over from exhaustion. :) Just kidding - I still need to take my evening dose of 16 odd medications. (Okay, maybe 16 is an exaggeration...more like 5 mandatory and 6 optional.) Good night to all - bed time's not as late as it used to be! Love, Richard David

Day after chemo

Richie stayed in bed fairly late today and was up for most of the day. He went back to bed later on this afternoon because of feeling tired. He didn't sleep very well last night - odd dreams kept waking him up. We think they're related to the chemo. He's still eating really well. He is just feeling worn out and tired. He is so thankful and appreciative of everyone who is praying for him and thinking of him. He said he never realized how many people really cared so much about him!

Brain Chemo #2

Richie had another dose of chemo put into brain/spinal fluid this morning around 9:00 a.m. The doctors were able to get fluid out with no problems and put the chemo in with no problems. Thank God. Rich is back at home resting. He is feeling very worn out/tired. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!
Daphne

Home from HUP

Hello everyone,
Richie came home on Tuesday, late afternoon. His cousin, Linda, brought him home. Chemo side effects have been minimal; he mostly just feels very, very tired. His appetite is good. Yesterday, he had a shot of Neulasta, a med that boosts your white blood cell counts. Tomorrow, Rich is going to LGH for his second shot of brain chemo. That should be the last of the chemo for a few weeks. We are all really happy to see Rich up and around the house now and then. We're so glad that he's not feeling sick. Please keep up with the prayers. Daphne

Monday Night, February 26th

Hi to All of Our Family & Friends,
We just got home from visiting Rich in the hospital, and there is never
a dull moment. But through it all, Richie has been a trooper with "Team Taraborelli"
behind him! He managed to get some sleep, because he was so tired from
the morphine.
Just to get you caught up:
On Friday, Rich had a medicine-receiving port called an Omya in his
head. It is there for chemo to be given to him for his spinal fluid. He
will receive shots into that spot throughout his treatment over the
next 7 months. He rested over the weekend while receiving his first 5
chemo IV drips (1-Fri., 2-Sat., 2-Sun.) and a cup of 14 pills daily. So
far he has had few reactions; only the hiccups after his treatments and
today a slight nausea at the end of the chemical treatments.
Today, Rich received a medicine port in his chest, so that the IV's
will be connected right into a tube instead of bruising his veins. He did
well, and then he received the last liquid chemo shots into both of his
new connectors. I'm sure that when Rich gets home, he'll be anxious to
show his new plumbing to all of his friends. If everything goes as
planned, Rich will be discharged tomorrow, and he'll be getting follow-up
treatments and blood work at Lancaster General and HUP at least
two-three times a week. If anyone has the time, we will need to call on some
friends to be his transportation and/or his company here at home. Rich
will be at home for 21-28 days, and then we head back to the Hospital
of the University of Pa (HUP) for his second treatment out of eight.
While at home, Richie will be very susceptible to colds and germs, so we
will have to ask that our friends that are going to visit be cold-free.
If you have any illnesses, maybe you could call him instead. I have never washed my hands so much in one week, and I'm compulsive about
clean hands!
Thanks to all of you for your loving support of our family. We have
people praying for Rich in many different prayer groups, religious
denominations, and in many countries! Your outpouring of concern and help is
very, very overwhelming for us. It is heart warming to know that so
many people want to help Rich. I can't thank all of the nurses and
doctors enough for their concern and compasionate care of our son. Thanks
to all for your cards, E-mails, food, and gifts. Richie is seeing all
of them; we had them hanging in his room and took them home for now.
Well, it's back to work for Rich & I tomorrow while our niece, Linda,
goes into Phila. to pick-up Richie for home! We can't wait to have him
home again! Everyone feels better at home and in their own bed. Keep all of your prayers coming; we feel like they're working, because Rich is still fighting the good
fight and staying strong. Hopefully, his strength will last. Richard,
Peter, Daphne, and I are tiring out, but it'll be worth it to beat this
disease together, as my niece, Rachel calls us: Team Taraborelli.
Keep Richie in your prayers,
Karen

Saturday, Feb. 24th

Hi All,Richie received a port (A permanent insert in the top of his skull for receiving medicine into the spinal fluid) yesterday in a morning surgery after a new, bald haircut by Laura, Daphne's sister and a head shave from his cousin Anthony. The surgery went well, but Richie had trouble breathing while on his back, so they took cautious measures and kept him on his side. He also received his first 2 IV drips of chemo yesterday afternoon and this morning. So far, so good. Rich is energetic and hungry which is something we have not seen in him since before going to Lancaster General. Richie is currently receiving the chemo by a regular IV; however, on Monday another port will be placed in his chest for chemo IV.These ports eliminate the problem of being injected with so many needles. He will have to make doctor visits to LGH, but if he stays healthy, he'll be home for awhile before going back for another round.Thank you for all of your prayers, e-mails, cards, and food! Everyone at Hosp. of the University of PA is so nice and cheerful, but their food leaves a lot to be desired! My mother-in-law needs to get over there and straighten them out - UGH! Richie is currently on an unrestricted diet, and is eating whenever the hopsital staff isn't putting needles into him or wisking him away for testing. Richie just wants this cancer out of him, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to "Get Er Done". He is so happy with the people that have kept in contact and are praying. Some people have asked about visiting him, but if you could call his dad's cell first, that would help to best control the number of people at one time. Also, Richie will be more suseptable to germs in a while, and the doctors don't want him sick with a cold, so if you are feeling ill, maybe calling would be the best way to get to visit. Please understand that Rich loves the company, but he tries to entertain everyone that visits and gets tired. We don't want to turn anyone away. I hope you understand.So, I've got to go. Keep praying. We love you all, Karen