Man with bladder cancer remortgages home for overseas treatment
Steven Ash is mortgaging his home and trying to cash his super in to fund $82,000 cancer treatment in Germany.
Steven Ash has bladder cancer and has exhausted his options at home. He tried treatment in Tasmania.
He then travelled to Western Australia for a second opinion, both times with the same result. Every biopsy makes his tumour bleed and spread through his bladder.
Now he's remortgaging his house, withdrawing his super early, and set up just a GoFundMe page to raise $82,000 for specialist treatment in Germany next week. His daughter Gaby watched him struggle through treatment.
Beyond just the medical fees, he still needs to cover flights and accommodation. For a man who works for two local councils and has always been active, the disease has forced an extreme choice: risk everything or risk his life.
- 2024
- Diagnosis year
- $82,000
- Medical cost
- Two years
- Symptom duration
- Latrobe and Kentish councils
- Employers
Why it mattersHis case shows gaps in cancer treatment options available in Australia, forcing patients to seek care overseas at enormous personal cost.
AustraliaAustralian patients with certain cancers may lack access to specialist treatments available overseas, leaving them to choose between financial ruin and going abroad.
Corroborated bytheadvocate.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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