Alt-rock star was used to stage fright. But those butterflies turned out to be cancer hiding in plain sight… don’t dismiss these warning signs

As a rock band drummer, Steven Kopacz is used to nerves.

Pre-gig jitters before performing with alternative band Go Radio are the norm before it’s all systems go. 

But in 2017, at just 33 years old, Kopacz’s typical tossing and turning stomach caught his attention off the stage, following an international tour. 

He began experiencing a lingering pain, which he assumed was nothing more than an ulcer – an open sore in the stomach lining that usually goes away on its own.

But when he sought medical help in November 2017 after the alleged ulcer refused to heal, he was devastated to learn it was actually cancer hiding in his stomach with nearly no symptoms.

‘Everything moved so fast,’ Kopacz, now 41 and living in Florida, said. ‘One minute it was an ulcer, the next minute it was cancer.’

Three days later, doctors brought him in for surgery, expecting to remove a portion of his stomach to rid him of the disease. Instead, it was more widespread than they thought, and Kopacz had his entire stomach, plus 27 surrounding lymph nodes, removed. 

It turned out to be stage three gastric adenocarcinoma, which doctors said was extremely uncommon for someone so young and otherwise healthy. 

‘When you hear they’ve taken your whole stomach out, it doesn’t even feel real,’ Kopacz said. ‘You just think, “How am I supposed to live now?”

‘I remember the doctor saying, ‘I don’t think you understand how serious this is.’ That’s the moment it really hit me.’

Kopacz became one of the roughly 31,500 Americans diagnosed with stomach cancer every year. Of those, just under 11,000 die annually.

The disease largely affects older Americans, with an average diagnosis age of 68 and about 60 percent of patients being 65 or older. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), only 1.7 percent of patients are between ages 20 and 34 like Kopacz. 

But emerging research suggests stomach cancer, like colon and pancreatic cancers, is on the rise among young Americans. Recent estimates show a 1.3 to two percent annual increase in early-onset stomach cancer (a diagnosis before age 50).

Experts are still unraveling the cause of the concerning trend, but lifestyle factors such as diets high in ultra-processed foods, exposure to pollution and obesity have been named as potential scapegoats for their role in inflammation and cell DNA damage. 

In about 40 percent of cases, stomach cancer is caused by Helicobacter pylori (H pylori), which can lurk undetected for decades. 

Kopacz started chemotherapy in December 2017, launching a battle that would permanently change how he lived in his body.

Surviving stomach cancer meant learning to live without the organ, a reality that reshaped everything from eating and digestion to energy and daily routine.

Without a stomach, food passes quickly into the intestine, leading to nausea, cramps and diarrhea – a condition called dumping syndrome. Doctors recommend eating several small meals a day to prevent this.

The body also cannot absorb essential nutrients like vitamin B12, leaving patients like Kopacz dependent on supplements. 

‘You have to relearn how to do the most basic things,’ he said. ‘Even eating becomes something completely different.’

Kopacz was soon declared cancer free and was able to rebuild his life, including welcoming a daughter, Saige, in 2021. 

‘I just wanted to be here,’ he said. ‘To be a husband, to be a dad, that was all that mattered.’

That was until April 2025, when seemingly mild constipation turned into weeks without a normal bowel movement. Hospital visits and a battery of scans and enemas revealed nothing for weeks on end.

‘I knew something wasn’t right in my body,’ Kopacz said. ‘But no one could tell me what it was.’

Only when he returned to a different hospital in early June and pushed doctors for further testing did the truth finally emerge: a two-inch mass in his rectal area.

Kopacz had stomach cancer yet again, this time stage four that had spread to the rectum.

‘Hearing that word a second time, it’s hard to describe,’ he said. ‘It just drops you right back into that fear.’

Along with no longer having a stomach, Kopacz has also been fitted with a colostomy bag – a pouch worn on the outside of the body that is used to collect stool from the intestine. He has since undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy and says the treatment leaves him exhausted and physically drained.

But Kopacz said he is determined to share his story to help raise awareness and provide support for other young people.

‘Cancer can make you feel extremely alone,’ he said. ‘I debated for a long time about sharing this publicly, but I thought it might actually help my mental health this time.

‘I’ve always been such a light-hearted, positive person. I always try to see the good in things and in people. When I first got cancer, something inside me flipped. It looks like my cancer’s back for round two, and this time, I’m trying not to let it steal who I am.’

That determination matters most when he looks at Saige, who just recently turned five. ‘She just sees me as Dad,’ Kopacz said. ‘And that’s who I want to keep being for her.’ 

He also hopes his story will encourage others to trust their instincts about their health.

‘If you’re having digestive issues and you truly think something’s wrong, advocate for yourself,’ he said. ‘Tell your doctors, and push for tests, get it on record.’

As medical bills grow and work becomes impossible during treatment, loved ones have launched a GoFundMe for Kopacz’s medical expenses. ‘The support has meant everything,’ he said. 

‘It reminds me we’re not going through this alone. I’m still here, and I’m still fighting.’