Please Support Michael Steen's Fight Against Liver Cancer

Please Support Michael Steen's Fight Against Liver Cancer

Hello! My name is Toni Steen I'm reaching out to you on behalf of my husband, Michael Steen who is facing an incredibly challenging time.

In May Michael received devasting news. While having a follow-up MRI done for ongoing GI issues he received a diagnosis of liver cancer, which he is fighting valiantly. Since May, Michael has had a number of CT scans, X-rays, Ultrasounds and PET scans to stage the cancer, which so far is confined to a solid tumor in his liver.

While working to complete staging and get ready for treatment, Michael got ill on July 14th. I called 911 and the paramedics advised me to drive Michael to the hospital so I drove him to the ER in Kona at 3 am (which is an hour drive away from our house) they examined Michael did bloodwork and a CT and told him he was probably not feeling well due to the liver cancer and discharged him to go home. What followed was a nightmare. Once home Michael started to vomit blood so we got back in the car and returned to the hospital. Once back at the ER they got Michael back in to be seen quickly and they started working on trying to figure out were he was bleeding from. By early morning as the ER staff struggled to stop his bleeding and finally transfused him with a unit of blood he was medically evacuated by helicopter to Queen's Hospital in Honolulu. He was there for 4 days inpatient recovering, and got an EGD that determined he had 4 variceal veins burst that had caused his bleeding. They were able to band them to stop the bleeding.

Michael has started a liver transplant evaluation. The evaluation is ongoing, and his cancer treatment will be starting on August 13th with chemoembolization and then on August 20th he will have an ablation to remove the tumor. During this time we will be away from our home on the Island of Hawaii and staying near the hospital in Oahu. This should give Michael some time to complete his testing for the liver transplant evaluation and hopefully be listed for a liver transplant.

For those of you lucky enough to know Michael know how incredible he is. He is fun, kind hearted, selfless and always willing to help and support the ones he loves.

While under going treatment, he will be taking a leave of absence from work to focus on his treatment and his road to recovery. Despite our health insurance plan, the bills are piling up and in addition to lost worktime, cost of medications, and flights back and forth from Kona to Honolulu for the both of us for Michael's treatment and testing. I know that everyone is feeling a pinch in the current economy and sometimes helping others is easier said than done. Any contribution made will go directly towards easing the financial burden for Michael and his family so that they can focus on Michael's health and well-being during this challenging time.

To those who can donate - your generosity, support, and kindness are so appreciated and with the help of you, we have set this up to try and help relieve any stress that we possibly can for him. This will allow Michael to continue to get the treatment he needs and focus on treatment and healing and getting stronger. All contributions are welcome and greatly appreciated. We would be grateful if you would consider sharing Michael's story with your network to help us reach more people. Every share helps us get closer to easing the financial burden of his treatment and recovery. Your generosity and kindness are deeply appreciated by Michael and his family.

We will continue to update you as Michael fights this battle with courage and strength