Mike Sr.'s Liver Cancer Rough Journey

Mike Stuber Sr. was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in September.

Everything started last year during the Spring of 2021, when Mike Sr. found out he had celiac disease as well as non alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Following the guidance of his Doctors and Dietitian, he changed his diet and things seemed to be going well, until this past summer…..

Mike Sr. started to experience severe stomach and back pain. He was also having a great deal of swelling in his abdominal area and began to lose a significant amount of weight. After going to the Lebanon VA Hospital’s ER for the 3rd time he was transferred to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was told he was in liver failure and needed a liver transplant.

At the end of August, Mike Sr. found out he had liver cancer and that he wouldn’t be eligible to receive a transplant until the cancer was taken care of first.

In the middle of September, Mike Sr. was still waiting to see if he could start any sort of treatment for the cancer and he ended up back in the ER at the Lebanon VA. He was then transferred to the Hershey Med Center, because of WellSpan was on divert.

At Hershey, Mike Sr. found out his liver cancer is terminal. He was told that they could try a procedure that could slow the progression of the cancerous tumors, but only received the consultation for this procedure at the beginning of November.

In the meantime, while waiting for his consultation appointment, Mike Sr. started having an Abdominal Paracentesis procedure done weekly. During this procedure the doctors are draining an average of 4 to 6 LITERS of fluid off of his abdomen.

At the beginning of November, Mike Sr. had a consultation with Hershey Med. about the procedure to slow down cancer. Unfortunately, he was told it was too risky and that the procedure would probably kill him faster. About a week later, Mike Sr. was told by his Oncologist that they couldn't see the 1 tumor on MRI anymore and that he could possibly be a candidate for a liver transplant.

Currently Mike Sr. is still waiting to see what hospital will take him so he can be evaluated, and hopefully be put on the liver transplant list. Possible locations are in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Through all this Gretta Stuber, his wife, has been taking him to all his doctors appointments several times a week, between 3 different healthcare systems. Mike Sr. is a retired Veteran and is no longer able to perform tasks around the house, like fixing the leaking roof which they will now have to pay someone fix. Gretta is on Social Security Disability and they have stopped her checks since January 2022, she was to get checks again in August but is now being told it could be at least 2-3 more months, so are living solely on Mike Sr.'s Veteran benefits at this time. As times are tough for everyone, they are especially tough for him and his family. They could use any help right now.