Steve Rhodes Steve Rhodes

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

Please read as we update you on Steve Rhodes’ latest health updates…

Well, this is not what Steve had planned for his first year of retirement…The past three months have been a blur… Step back to September, Steve had a continued and very persistent dry cough that was extremely irritating and uncomfortable. He was referred to a pulmonologist and then cleared as nothing showed on scans. The cough persisted and then weight loss began which was followed by extreme fatigue and confusion. It was in our first ER visit in the beginning of November that a CT scan showed a large mass in his liver all along his liver enzymes never showed such wreckage in his body.

Steve was diagnosed on November 21st with Stage 4 Cirrhosis of the liver-non alcoholic and Stage 4 Metastatic Liver Cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma). After five hospital stays, countless blood draws, appointments with oncologists, a week on chemo which followed by a steep decline and appointments with GI specialists; with doctors suggestions and a family decision we are placing him in care with hospice. Keeping him home and comfortable with minimal pain is what we have all decided. 

Julie has been a warrior for Steve! Unbelievably strong and his number one fighter, but this is a very aggressive cancer and compounded with 
cirrhosis, a transplant and surgeries are not an option for his situation.

Through this quick process Steve and Julie along with Brittany and Ashley and family, have been covered in prayer and a peace that only comes from the Lord. We will continue to update this page for consistent communication and specific prayer requests. Text messages and emails  are so loved, but it’s not possible to respond to them all. Please know we read them and appreciate them.