Friends rallying to support
area child battling cancer
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
Anthony Triolo
Anthony Triolo likes to do the same things most 4-year-old boys like to do, but right now he’s focusing all his energies on "getting the good guys to kill the bad guys," according to his dad, Tony.
Anthony has a cancerous tumor on his fifth rib.
And, like any other soldier armed for battle, the tiny warrior is being optimistic about winning his battle with cancer and dealing with the discomfort and difficulties resulting from his chemotherapy treatments.
Tony Triolo told the News Transcript he explained to Anthony that there are good cells and bad cells in his body and that right now he has some bad cells that need to go away. He told his son the chemotherapy is the "good guys" which will help to fight those bad guys.
"It’s a concept he can understand," Triolo explained.
According to Triolo, the tumor on Anthony’s rib, which is called a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), will require surgical removal of the affected fifth rib and any affected parts of the rib on either side of the affected one, followed by an additional 10 chemotherapy treatments.
The surgery will require doctors to place mesh where the ribs were to provide structural support for Anthony. The mesh will need to be periodically replaced as he grows, according to his dad.
Some of the chemotherapy treatments are very difficult for the boy. In fact, Anthony is currently being hospitalized in New Brunswick because of complications from the chemotherapy. The youngster has painful mouth sores which make it very difficult for him to eat; therefore, he needs to be under medical supervision.
Triolo said Anthony should be coming home from the hospital soon. He said his wife, Maria, spends most of her time with Anthony at the hospital while he stays at home with their daughters — Emma, 6, and Sarah, 1. With some help from family and friends, Triolo is able to work at home, for now."It’s too much for [Anthony] to handle by himself, so my wife sleeps there as well. Sometimes we alternate shifts," he added.
After this current treatment is completed, Anthony must undergo one more round of chemotherapy before surgery can be scheduled.
Triolo said he and his wife are "doing OK" considering all that has happened.
One of the things Triolo finds helps him cope with his son’s illness is researching the tumor and its treatment. He works as a research scientist, and although his area is not in medicine, his experience in research is helping him through.
Triolo has established an Internet Web site for Anthony where updates on the child’s condition can be found.
On the Web site, he tracks Anthony’s progress and chemotherapy treatments and has written in journal form the child’s experience as well as his own. Poignant and touching, as well as informative, the entries speak of love and hope, but reveal a sadness and a sense of helplessness one can almost feel through the Internet.
Journal entries describe the difficulty in administering medications at home, while other entries talk about Anthony’s hospital visits and his reactions to his treatments.
"It is incredibly difficult to watch your child in pain, knowing you can’t do anything about it," said one entry.
Neighborhood friends, in an attempt to help Anthony’s parents pay for the additional cost of the surgery that their insurance will not cover, have created the organization "Friends of Anthony."
Kate Krysa and three other family friends — Kellie Corley, Lisa Fiorletti and Marie Daidone — have organized a benefit dinner in honor of Anthony to be held at Basile’s Italian Restaurant, Monroe Township, at 7 p.m. July 17. The cost of the dinner is $50 per person. For more information, call (732) 863-1458.
A silent auction will also be held at the restaurant that night and will include items for bid such as baskets filled with products or gift certificates for things such as landscaping, cosmetics, dinners from area restaurants and various other items.
"It is our hope to give assistance to our good friends in any way we can during this difficult time. We offer them all our prayers and love," Krysa said.