Help my nephew Chris fight a rare incurable cancer

Help my nephew Christopher Stoker fight a rare incurable cancer, and give him more time to watch his newborn daughter grow. 

Imagine finding out only 4 weeks before the birth of your first child that you have an incurable cancer. We are raising funds to support Chris & his wife (Katey) while they navigate this incredibly unique experience whilst raising a newborn. 


In May 2022, Chris woke up to find his vision was blurry. Being a typical male he tried to brush it off with his “she’ll be right” attitude and got up and went to work. After plenty of nagging from his wife, Chris went to the optometrist but was sent straight to the ER with a suspected retinol detachment. The following morning when prepping Chris for surgery the specialists found out it was worse than they expected. They found a large mass behind his eye and four excruciating days later, Chris was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma.

Ocular melanoma is an extremely rare form of cancer that affects a small 1 in 5 million adults. It was explained that the mass was too big for radiation and the only way to save his life was to remove the whole eye. A few days later, Chris had surgery (enucleation) to remove his eye. The recovery was tough but he was so strong and brave throughout the countless procedures. A few months later Chris had a prosthetic eye made.

Not long after, they found out they were expecting their first child. The pregnancy was not without complications but were overjoyed to announce they were expecting a baby girl in April of 2023. Only 9 months after Chris’s eye removal he had a routine cancer screening and sadly there were spots found on his liver. Katey was 36 weeks pregnant. It's the same cancer that has metastasized (spread) and they were told that there is no “cure” with very limited treatment options available. The treatment options that are available will prolong his life but not cure him of this awful disease. Even with the current treatments Chris was informed he would only have months. At a time when other expectant parents are counting down to newborn cuddles, Chris and Katey have been with Chris’ oncology team- terrified of what the future holds for their little family. Chris will fight this disease with everything he has to be around as long as possible to watch his daughter grow.

A treatment option to give Chris more time to watch his daughter grow is a mix of two drugs - Darovasertib and Crizotinib. One drug he is able to access on compassionate grounds and the other he will have to self-fund. It is expected 2-3 rounds self funded will be over $25,000. With Katey currently being on maternity leave and Chris having to undergo regular cancer treatments there is no fulltime income. Managing this incurable cancer will be a fulltime job in itself. Any donations made will contribute towards Chris’ ongoing cancer care, treatment & supporting his daughter and wife. We would love to take the constant daily stress and anxiety of financial pressures away from Chris and his family.

Raising Awareness It’s amazing how quickly your life can change. Please take Chris’ story as your reminder to have your eyes checked regularly by an optometrist - even if you don’t have any vision problems. Eyes can be affected by a number of conditions which may be picked up early through a sight test, giving it less chance of affecting your vision, health and even your life. Chris and his family more than anything want to build awareness of this disease and hope that by sharing his story more people will book in for their yearly eye review.