Family, friends helping family
When Steve Weber of rural Silver Lake went to a doctor because of a swollen knee in January 2016, he had no idea that it would be the trigger for the discovery of stage four cancer.
Weber said fluid around his knee was drained, and he was put on steroids for continuing treatment.
“After taking the steroid pills for two or three days, I started getting severe stomach cramps,” said Weber. He went to the emergency room, and ended up in the hospital.
“Apparently, the steroids activated ulcers that I didn’t even know I had,” said Weber.
An endoscopy found two ulcers in his stomach. About a week later, the results of the endoscopy revealed that the ulcers were cancerous. Further tests revealed that the cancer also was in his colon as well.
Appointments were made at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to determine treatment options. Five days of testing, including an endoscopy, MRI, laryngoscopic scan and more, revealed that the cancer was at stage four.
Weber said he well remembers doctors coming to his room to give him the news.
“They said, ‘you’re handling this pretty damn well,’” said Weber. “Well, you have to take it with a grain of salt. It is what it is. I said, ‘there is no other way to take it.’”
Weber said he has tried — and still tries — to keep a positive attitude and meet his health issues head on.
His treatment protocol included 25 rounds of chemotherapy.
Up until this summer, Weber said, “I had been doing pretty well.” But in June, he had trouble keeping food down, and more tests revealed that the cancer had closed off a portion of his colon and his stomach. Stents were put in to open the passages back up.
In August, Weber began having pain again, and it was discovered “that the tumor and grown right through the stent. And that’s where we are right now — dealing with what comes next.”
For more about Steve Weber, and the upcoming benefit, see the Oct. 11 print edition of The Chronicle.
