The Stelter family is facing some more bad news.
Mike Stelter, the father of late Oilers superfan Ben Stelter, announced on his personal Twitter account on Thursday that he had recently been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer growing on his spine.
"I was having back pains and with an MRI the doctors found a tumour growing on my spine," said Mike in the tweet. "We have to travel to the US for treatment because it’s not available in Canada."
This cancer diagnosis comes a little less than a year after the family lost Ben to a form of brain cancer.
Mike's sister-in-law Danielle Ribich was quick to set up a GoFundMe page to help the Stelters cover all the living expenses as they prepare to head to Pennsylvania for Mike's treatment.
"So far, they’ve been told that only Mike’s flight to Pennsylvania and the treatment itself will be covered by Alberta Health," said Ribich on the GoFundMe page. "There still may be added expenses for testing, scans, and medication while in the United States."
Ribich added that both Mike and his wife Lea will not be able to work during this 7-week process. While nothing is for certain, the family expects to make their first trip next week.
The GoFundMe launched on Thursday and started with an initial goal of raising $40,000. At the moment, the total raised is over $50,000.
You can learn more about the Stelters' situation and donate to the fundraiser by clicking here.